- Date Of Birth: October 6, 1924
- Date Of Death: June 12, 2011
- State: Arizona
William Ross, 86, of Scottsdale, died at his home on June 12, 2011. The cause of death was cancer, against which he had fought valiantly in recent months. He was born Mark Herbert Rosenblum on October 6, 1924 in New York City and became known to his friends as Bill. He eventually changed his given name to William. He was a veteran of World War II, serving from 1942 to 1945 in the United States Navy, first in the Atlantic aboard the light cruiser USS Philadelphia and then in the Pacific aboard the aircraft carrier USS Cowpens, on which he participated in the assaults on the Marshall Islands and the Marianas and, later, the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Cowpens was battered by storms, most notably Typhoon Cobra on December 18, 1944, the only time he reported having been “scared” during the war. Following his discharge from the Navy, he spent time working as an actors’ agent in Hollywood, Calif. and eventually returned to New York, where he spent the bulk of his career as a marketing executive in the direct sales business. It was in Peekskill, N.Y. that he met Gloria Levy, who became his wife in 1952. Bill had a passion for cooking, and in 1971 he opened a restaurant, The Studio, in West Dover, Vt., near the Mt. Snow ski area. He retired to Scottsdale in 1986. He is survived by his wife; two sons, Ken and Steve; two grandsons, Kyle and Nicholas; and two daughters-in-law, Nora Jane Slattery and Terry Fostvedt. He always told his family that he would eventually be “called to a Jovian moon,” though it is uncertain to which of Jupiter’s 65 moons he may have been destined.
