Janet Jessie Ross

Janet (Jean) Ross died peacefully at Markham Stouffville hospital on Monday November 6, 2023 at age 97. She will be missed by her children David (Barb) Ross, Elaine Ross (John Calcott), daughter in law Ginger Mosney, Colin Ross (Chris Williamson), Hugh Ross, eight grandchildren, Jessica, Cameron, Meredith, Vicky, Alex, Hailey, Kal and Kiran and one great grandson, Ewan. She is survived by her sister Molly Melrose and predeceased by her husband Alexander Ross and son Douglas Ross.

Jean was a feisty Scot. She was born in Glasgow, Scotland and grew up in a two room tenement flat with her parents, two sisters, brother and aunt.

She had a happy childhood and often talked about the holidays that she spent with her grandparents in the small village of Elvanfoot where her grandfather was the railway signalman.

Jean left school when she was 14 and worked her way up from boxing chocolates in a factory to bookkeeping in an office. It was there that she met her accountant husband Alex (who was her boss). He was tall, dark and handsome and all the office “girls” had their eyes on him. He was attracted to her keen sense for numbers. Their relationship bloomed and when he decided to move to Canada she agreed to follow him.

Jean and Alex married in 1957 and had five children. Every vacation was spent camping with the children at provincial parks across Ontario. Jean was strong and capable and would pack the station wagon, pitch the tent, light the camp stove, carry a canoe and make the dinners all while keeping an eye on five children poking sticks in the fire.

When they moved to Unionville in 1967 Jean really came into her own. While Alex worked, Jean painted and wallpapered the house, laid a flagstone patio in the yard, built a retaining wall and refinished a walnut dining room table. She then learned to swim, curl and ice skate. Later she said this was the happiest time of her life because she felt so independent (a theme in Jean’s life, especially as she aged).

Later Jean worked in the seed room at White Rose Nurseries and volunteered in the craft room at the Markham seniors centre. Jean was a loving and demanding mother and an accomplished homemaker. She knitted tea cozies and bought a sewing machine to mend the kids’ pants. She received a Scottish cookbook (from her mother in law) as a wedding present and used it for the rest of her life to make the family hearty Scottish stews and soups, steak and kidney pies and scones. She was still cooking meals for herself well into her 90’s. The family are now going to have to learn how to make these dishes on their own.

Jean had a strong competitive spirit and loved to win at bridge and card games, whether playing with friends or her grandchildren.

She looked forward to balancing her cheque book each month and loved doing sudokus and the cryptic crossword and solving TV murder mysteries until the last days of her long and active life.

The family would like to express their gratitude to the staff at Amica Unionville for their cheerful attention to Jean’s needs and to the staff at Markham Stouffville Hospital for their excellent care in her final hours. Jean is to be cremated in accordance with her wishes. If desired, donations in her memory may be made to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. Notification to the family can be given to Scotland647@gmail.com.