John
K
Ross
John K. Ross was born on September 27, 1936 to John Kenneth Ross and Bernice Wade Ross. John's great grandparents immigrated from Scotland to Galveston, Texas. Shortly after arriving they and the next generation settled in Austin in the 1800 block of South Congress Avenue where they lived in and ran a boarding house. They eventually purchased acreage on Route 2 which eventually became Burleson Road that's been in the family for over 110 years.
John K. Ross was raised to be a hard working man by his father, with his mother's good heart. His father was a local judge and golden glove boxer. John carried the toughness of his father throughout his life and never got too high nor too low. In the best of times and in the worst of times, he was the same man.
John was raised on a dairy farm and would wake up before dawn to start his milk deliveries to the creamery before he went to school. He attended Fulmore, Austin High and graduated from the new Travis High School. At age 19, he joined the United States Armed Forces. He was stationed in Guam and South Korea. After 6 years of service, he returned home from his deployment. His father then gave him the dairy farm, which he converted into a cattle ranch. He had the dream to continue serving his country at home and set his sights on the Austin Police Department. At the time, there where no vacancies so he served his community as a fireman in the Austin Fire Department for 1.5 years before he reapplied and was hired on to APD.
During his time at the Austin Police Department his service included, but was not limited to regular patrol, lake patrol, the traffic office, taught traffic law to new cadets in the Academy, was assigned to the Training Academy later where he assisted in firearms training , and his last assignment was Lieutenant of the motorcycle division. John retired from the police department in December of 1995 after 31 years of service, working his way up through countless promotions and earning many awards. His time was enjoyed most in the motorcycle division as he had always loved motorcycles, and continued to ride his Harley late into his life. During his time on the police department he met the love of his life, Sharon, the yin to his yang. While he was a calm hardworking country boy, she was the opposite and always ready for adventure. It was a perfect match and the marriage lasted over 37 years with their partnership lasting more than 45. In his retirement John traveled the world and visited all 50 states, some of them several times. They've spent much of their marriage traveling the world seeing The Great Wall of China, Tibet, Israel, Italy, Germany, Austria, Scotland, Ireland, the wilderness of Alaska, and Canada, but their favorite place in the world was the beautiful outback of Australia and New Zealand.
John took care of his family including his son Troy, from a previous marriage, his wife's special needs brother Gary Lee, and his great nephew Preston. John was greatly loved and will be missed by family and friends. John's life was spent in service to others, including but not limited to 6 years in the armed forces, 1.5 years as a fireman, 31 years as a police officer, serving 17 years as the treasurer of the Austin Police Association, and 33 years on the Velocity Credit union board. John along with his wife, Sharon, created The Trinity Center Christmas Program for the homeless at St. David's Episcopal Church and ran it for 10 years.
John is survived by his wife Sharon Voudouris-Ross, brother in laws Gary Lee Voudouris and Nick Wayne Voudouris, his son Troy Ross and his wife Stephanie, and her son Will. He is survived by his oldest and dearest childhood friend of more than 80 years, Opal Webb.
Celebration of John's life will be held at Harrell's Funeral Home, 4435 Frontier Trail, 512-443-1366 on November from 6pm to 8:30 pm.
Funeral service will be held on November... at... Harrell's Funeral Home.
Burial will follow at Forest Oaks Cemetery, 6300 West William Cannon Dr.
Military honors will be provided by the Austin Police Department Honor Guard..
The Family is providing a complimentary celebratory meal for ALL after the service. Please join us at Jack Allen's Steakhouse, 7720 W. Highway 71, Oak Hill, TX. In lieu of flowers, the family requests you make donations to St. Joan Of Arc Episcopal Church, 1225 Town Center Drive #1434, Pflugerville, Tx 78660, Central Texas Food Bank, Salvation Army, Meals on Wheels or Emancipet.