William John Ross (Bill) passed away suddenly at his home on Thursday, January 11, 2024. The first son of Alexander and Mary Ross, Bill was born in Detroit, MI, in 1939 and lived most of his life in the metropolitan areas of Detroit, MI, and Toledo, OH.
Before his retirement, Bill was the owner and president of Associated Staffing, a human resources and executive recruiting firm, and the one-time president of Dura Corporation, a global automotive supplier to North American original equipment manufacturers with plants in Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee. While at Dura, he led the company's international expansion, opening operations in Mexico and South Korea.
Bill was active in an investment club, advised hundreds of business leaders from various industries, was involved in the church parishes where he was a member, and supported numerous philanthropic endeavors, big and small.
As a child, he worked as a paperboy and commanded a significant route. So large that sometimes his parents would need to help him fold up all the papers he had to deliver. He also worked as a stock boy at A&P. His siblings recall that he was always working.
Bill attended the University of Detroit High School, graduating in 1957. He graduated from the University of Detroit in 1961 with an accounting degree and was active in the Alpha Phi Omega national service fraternity. He also served in the Michigan Air National Guard.
His parents predeceased Bill. His mother, Mary Campbell (McCarthy) Ross, died in 1989, and his father, Alexander McKay Ross, died in 1990.
He is survived by his wife, Jane Ross, and his children, Marc Ross (Karin), Alexandria, VA; Eric Ross (Lorelei), Rock Hill, SC; his step-daughters Kristen Elizondo (S.O. DeAnn Broka), Toledo, OH; Cherie' Demko (Bryan), Sylvania, OH; Sara Cox (Nathan), Lewis Center, OH; and grandchildren, Kayla Ross, Gabriella Demko, Dominic Demko, Vivian Demko, Everly Cox, and Sylvia Cox.
Also surviving him are his siblings, Ellen Pitcole (Larry), Fenton, MI, and Alexander Ross (Merle), Livonia, MI, along with nieces and nephews on both sides of his family whom he truly loved and enjoyed watching their children grow.
Bill was a passionate sports fan, especially of the 12-time national football title winners Michigan Wolverines and four-time NFL champions Detroit Lions. He was an avid reader, a whiz at trivia, and an ardent debater on the day's political issues. Bill loved to study geography and travel to destinations near and far. He enjoyed James Bond films, history documentaries, and singing while he motored on road trips. He made every room he entered better and certainly more fun.
He will be remembered for encouraging those he loved to achieve greatness and always be curious. Bill was a generous, kind-hearted, and outgoing man who loved his family and friends.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10:00 am on Saturday, January 27, 2024, at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 5411 Main Street, Sylvania, OH, with a Celebration of Life Visitation one hour prior in the church's narthex. Interment will follow at Calvary Cemetery, 2224 Dorr St, Toledo, OH. In place of flowers, please consider donating to the Sisters of St. Francis of Sylvania, OH.
