Robert Pat Ross

Robert Pat Ross or Bob as everyone knew him, passed away peacefully with his loving family surrounding him on November 26, 2019 in Houston, Texas. Bob, a St. Patrick’s Day baby, was born on March 17, 1933 to Everett and Nona Ross in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He is preceded in death by his parents, his sister Barbara and his loving wife, May, of forty-three years. He is survived by his sister Betty Mae Ross, his children John Preston Keeter (Linda) Georgetown, TX; Andrew Neil Keeter (Sharon), Bellevue, ID; James Scott Keeter (Lori) Houston, TX; Mary Jane Journey (Bill), Prosper, TX; David Allen Keeter (Alicia), DeFuniak Springs, FL; Jenny Beth Ross Strother (Dennis), Coleman, TX. He is also survived by 13 grandchildren and 17 great grandchildren.

Bob and his family grew up in Colorado and Bucklin, Kansas where he graduated high school. He attended college at Kansas State, earning his bachelor’s in mechanical engineering. He continued his education earning a mechanical engineering technical degree from Oklahoma State. He moved to the Dallas area and began his work career at General Dynamics. It was during this time that Bob met his wife May, a widow with five children, on the ski slopes in New Mexico during Christmas break in 1968. Always the romantic, when he first met her, he said that May was the prettiest girl on the mountain. After a whirlwind courtship they married just weeks later on Valentines Day, 1969. At the encouragement of his wife, Bob and May landed in the Austin area and he began working on receiving his architectural degree from the University of Texas-Austin. During this period Bob and May also expanded their family with the addition of Jenny Beth. Bob and May traveled all over the United States and Germany as he was an accomplished civil service architect for the United States Air Force and Army. His career travels led him to Bergstrom AFB (Austin TX), USMCA (Worms Germany), Luke AFB (Phoenix AZ), and Lackland AFB (San Antonio TX).

Outside of his work Bob had a passion for photography, woodworking and was an accomplished artist - from portraits and caricatures to still life and nature scenes. If you sat still long enough you could bet he was capturing that snapshot in time and transferring it to a canvas. He loved a variety of artistic mediums to show off his skills.

Bob also had a love for travel and adventure. He spent many hours discovering the beauty of God’s creation. He enjoyed music, dancing, snow skiing, water skiing and sailing. One of his favorite pastimes was driving and exploring the country with his sweet Labrador Retrievers, Ginger, Angel, Melody and CoCo.

Bob never met a stranger in his daily life, making friends wherever he landed. He and May had a love for crafting and created a multitude of doll furniture and dolls that his children and grandchildren will cherish for years to come. Bob was truly a gentleman’s gentleman always showing his chivalric side to all. He was an advocate for class, chivalry and adventure. Even as he got older, his sense of getting out on the road and seeing the world never stopped. He had a charm about him that would win over anyone who encountered him. After the loss of his wife May, Bob began his next adventure in life with his travel trailer moving from town to town exploring the world around him. He continued his artwork and drawing of caricatures until his hands could no longer hold the pencil. A piece of his soul went into every drawing he created, and they tell a story of the beauty that Bob saw in every person or thing he encountered.

We imagine that on the day of his reunion in Heaven with May, that he is dancing her throughout the golden streets of glory and saying “This is our final and greatest adventure together with God”. He never wanted to be a burden to anyone, always maintaining his independence to the last breath on this earth. He will be remembered as a sweet, gentle soul.