Ross Minish Sigmon III

He was predeceased by his parents, Ross Minish Sigmon, Jr. and Frances Crowder Sigmon, and his close friend, Judy Hartigan.

Ross is survived by his brother and sister-in-law, John Crowder Sigmon, Sr and Debra Stroupe Sigmon, his niece Suzanne Heidenreich (James), his nephew John C. Sigmon, Jr. (Allison), and his great niece Emalyn Blair (Ebie) Heidenreich.

Ross was born in Hollywood, Florida but also lived in Winston-Salem, NC, Pennington, New Jersey and Burlington, North Carolina as well as Raleigh, North Carolina until his death. He graduated from North Carolina State University, where he was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity. Ross had many good memories and life-long friends from his times as a Kappa Sig at NCSU. Following his graduation from NCSU, he was commissioned into the Army as a 1st Lieutenant and went through basic training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Ross then was assigned to Vietnam.

Ross was located at the Dong Ha Combat Base, C Battery, 8th Battalion, 4th Field Artillery. He was an Artillery Liaison Officer and spent much time as a Forward Observer where he called in fire support for the big guns at the DMZ. He was honorably discharged in 1970. Ross did not discuss the war much but he did share some funny stories. One was about the time they had drag races with self-propelled howitzers. It is safe to say, Ross had a good sense of humor and could be quite rambunctious at times. However, he became withdrawn after his tour in Vietnam.

Following his return from the war, Ross attended the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and worked toward completing his Masters in Architecture. He then worked in architectural design for the Walter Davis Architect (now Davis Kane) company and later, for SAS Institute as a campus construction project manager. Ross retired from SAS and spent a lot of quality time with his beloved Judy, who was much loved by our family. She, above anyone else, helped Ross cope with life. He did love to crew for Dr. Leroy Allen in the Big Rock fishing tournament and talked about it often. A highlight was when he helped reel in a 550 lb. blue marlin and the boat came oh so close to a tournament win! Dr. Allen and his family were very kind to and supportive of Ross.

Ross was interested in a wide variety of topics. He loved cooking and working outdoors. He was an intelligent, artistic, and very creative person. He was very proud of and especially loved his niece, Suzanne, and nephew, John Jr. He will be missed very much by our family, but we find much comfort in knowing his pain is eased and he is in a better place now.

A memorial service in Salisbury, NC where his parents are also buried. Summersett Funeral Home will assist with a graveside service at 10:30 am on Thursday, September 15th at City Memorial Park, 1310 W. Innes Street Salisbury, NC. A reception immediately following will be held at Salisbury Country Club.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Ross’s name to the Yellow Ribbon Fund that supports armed service personnel (www.yellowribbonfund.org)

Arrangements provided by Brown-Wynne Funeral Home & Crematory, 300 Saint Mary's St. Raleigh, NC.