Donna Ross

Donna Lee Ross, wife, mother, sister, grandmother, great-grandmother, business partner and friend ... Donna Ross was an inspiration to everyone who knew her.

Born to the late Richard and Roberta Cribley on June 26, 1935, in Mecca, Donna passed away at home surrounded by her loving family on Saturday, January 10, 2009, at the age of 73. She also was preceded in death by a sister, Emily Gilmore; and a grandson, Brandon Ross.

Left to cherish her memory are her husband of 47 years, Keith Ross Sr. of Bellefontaine; daughter, Kim (Tim) LeVan of Bellefontaine; six grandchildren, Clark Ross, Lindy (Matt) Penhorwood and Colby LeVan, all of Bellefontaine, Luke (Rachel) Ross of Brunswick, and Kara and Hollie Ross of Orlando, Florida.; stepsons, Keith (Becky) Ross Jr. of Bellefontaine and Mark Ross of Orlando, Florida.; her great-granddaughters, Parker and Harper Penhorwood of Bellefontaine; her sisters, Barb (Mike) Sloan of Bellefontaine, Ethel Koch of Kenton, Ohio, and Dianne (Howard) Klingler of Ashland; a brother, Richard (Suzie) Cribley of Ada; and several nieces and nephews.

Donna, along with her husband, started their first orthopedic distributorship in 1966. The company later became Biomet-Ross Inc. She was secretary/treasurer of the company until her retirement. Upon retirement, she worked as a volunteer at Mary Rutan Hospital.

She enjoyed breeding and racing standard bred horses of which she owned an Ohio champion and numerous Ohio sire stake winners. She also enjoyed dancing, playing card and board games, along with spending a lot of time in Florida enjoying the sunny weather, beach and going to the Daytona 500 every year.

Donna’s passion for life and her devotion to her husband and family will long be remembered.

Gene Marine conducts the funeral service at 1 p.m. Thursday, January 15, 2009, at the Eichholtz Funeral Home in Bellefontaine, where calling hours are from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, January 14, 2009, and one hour prior to the funeral. Interment is in the Bellefontaine Cemetery.

Memorial donations may be made to Hospice of Logan County P.O. Box 550 Bellefontaine, Ohio 43311.

Messages of support and sympathy may be sent to eichholtz@embarqmail.com

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