WILSON, ROSS ANDERSON JR., of Lawrence Kansas, passed away quietly with his family at his side on January 30, 2018. Ross (never liked to be called Mr. Wilson) was born on February 22, 1920 in Gary, Indiana. He was raised in Buffalo, N.Y. where he began a remarkable career. In his teen years he attended military school in Hot Springs, Arkansas and was fond of telling the story of seeing then President Roosevelt using the hot springs for therapy. Following high school he went to work for Bell Aircraft in Buffalo and was part of a seven-man crew that developed the first Bell helicopter. During WWII he worked for Bell traveling the country trouble shooting both fixed wing and helicopter problems. He was on the crew that put Chuck Yeager in the cockpit of the Bell X-1 that broke the sound barrier in 1947.
An avid outdoorsman, in the mid-fifties he moved with his wife June and son Jack, to Tuckerton, N.J. where he was one of the founders of three marinas on the South Jersey shore. He also worked in both auto and real estate sales. Ross retired in his mid-sixties and took up woodcarving. He received numerous best of show awards and received the Hurley Conklin Award in 2002.
He is predeceased by his wife June M. in 2010. He is survived by his son Jack, daughter-in-law Kathy, and many great friends. Visitation will be Monday, February 5, from 9-11 AM, at WOOD FUNERAL HOME, 134 EAST MAIN ST., TUCKERTON, N.J. A celebration of life service will follow at the funeral home at 11 AM, Reverend Ron Watts officiating. Interment will take place immediately after, at Greenwood Cemetery, Tuckerton. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Douglas County Visiting Nurses in Lawrence Kansas or the Lawrence Humane Society.
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