Obituary of Dorothy Olga Ross

Dorothy Olga Ross, December 13, 1923 – September 24, 2020. Funeral Service for Dorothy will be held on Monday, October 5th, 2020 at 11:00 am. The service can be viewed on Facebook Group: Dorothy Olga Ross Memorial and Church ServiceIt is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Dorothy Olga Ross. Dorothy passed peacefully at Extendicare Rouge Valley Scarborough. One of seven siblings born of Lincoln and Margaret Scott Trinidad & Tobago W.I., survived by sisters Theresa Scott-Frampton and Cynthia Scott Toronto Canada. Dorothy was predeceased by husband Martin Ross and son Thomas Barney (Karen). Dorothy is also survived by son Max (Lynne) and daughter Anne-Marie, granddaughters Katie Ross and Jessica Ross and great-grandson Theo Eisener, nephews Gerard Chrysostum-Louis (Sara), Andre Antoine (Penny), Robin Thomas (Pamela) and nieces Annette Oladipo (Alberto), Cheryl Antoine, Marlene Webster, Gloria Reese, Janice Acosta (Winston), Andrea Juman (Wendell) and great-nieces Olivia Juman, Adelia Chrysostum-Louis, great-nephews Ademola Oladipo (Sarah), Stevie Davis, Christopher Juman, Darcy Chrysostum-Louis, great-great-niece Chelsea Oladipo, great-great-nephew Joshua Oladipo. Many other nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews reside in Trinidad and the United States. Dorothy, husband Martin and their three children, Thomas Barney, Max and Anne-Marie immigrated to Canada in 1965. The family lived in Windsor, Ontario where Dorothy worked as a supply teacher for the Catholic school board. Dorothy and the three children moved to Scarborough in 1967 to be closer to her mother Margaret and sisters Theresa and Cynthia and where she was able to find full-time employment as a teacher with the Metro Separate School Board.Life in those early years was not easy. In addition to being a single mom now raising three young children with a full-time job, Dorothy also worked in the evenings to review and grade the school children’s assignments and prepare lessons for the next school day for each of the two split grades she was teaching and additional lessons customized for each child who was encountering difficulty with areas of the syllabus. Her day also included studying and/or attending evening classes at University of Toronto to obtain a B.A. required by the School Board. Dorothy modeled a love for learning, that she had developed in her childhood, and a hard work ethic that influenced her children. Thomas Barney obtained a scholarship to attend the University of Toronto and would later join the Canadian Armed Forces followed by a 10-year career in claims adjudication with the Alberta Workman’s Compensation Board. Max obtained B.A. Sc. in engineering at the University of Waterloo and went on to have a 34-year career as a Civil Engineer with the City of Ottawa. Anne-Marie obtained a B.A. in Sociology and a Specialized Honours B.A. in Psychology concurrently from York University. She served in Chief Executive, Senior Executive, and Presidents Offices in both the For-Profit and Not-For-Profit sectors and went on to apply her psychology to consumer behaviour, obtaining undergrad and post-grad diplomas in Business Marketing and Database Marketing from George Brown College. She has developed diverse strategies for Community-wide events and acquisition and retention projects for small business.When Dorothy began showing undeniable signs of dementia, Anne-Marie demonstrated the selfless devotion to family she learned from her mother, as she set her planned career aspirations aside and made the full-time care of our mother her new career. Anne-Marie never left her mother’s side, she did her best to make mom as comfortable as possible as dementia slowly over a 20 period and progressively dismantled the memory and mind of the smart, warm, loving woman that was our mother. How our hearts broke. Anne stuck with her to the end, a fierce advocate for mom healthcare and as mom’s best friend. During this difficult period, Anne-Marie also worked to establish her own business in addition to her full-time work looking after our mother.Over her long 33+ year career Dorothy was regarded as an exceptional teacher by her peers, pupils, and parents of pupils. Dorothy loved her students. She had a gentle way of engaging students and was especially effective at helping kids who were having difficulty grasping a concept to understand and master it. She had positive impact on the lives of many young people and was well loved. On several occasions, former students, years after being taught by Dorothy in primary school and now in their late teens and early twenties, or a parent of a former student, would encounter Dorothy at a public venue and would go out of their way to stop her and tell her how much they loved her, missed her and how she was the best teacher they, or their child, ever had.The birth of granddaughters Katie and Jessie, children of Thomas Barney and Karen, ushered in a new period of excitement and happiness in Dorothy’s life. She was an amazing grandmother and doted over her grandchildren. Karen recalls that when the girls were young and the family lived in Edmonton, she never had to buy dresses for them because Grandma would send boxes of dresses for them. She would dress them in each one and send photos to Toronto for Grandma to show how happy the dresses made them. Dorothy was a very generous woman and she loved her granddaughters.Everyone who knew Dorothy knows her life was guided by an unshakeable faith in God. The only time she would miss her Sunday mass was when she was under the weather. Later in life when she was too ill to attend, friends from her local parish, St. Barnabas, would come to the house and pray with her.For many years Dorothy participated in her Teacher’s Choir. She had a beautiful voice. One of the highlights she looked forward to was the annual Teacher’s Christmas Concert. It was a big event, she would get all dressed up in traditional choir black and white formal attire and Max and Anne-Marie would often accompany her to the event. Our mother modeled the type of character we wanted to become and was loved and respected by all her children and grandchildren. Mom was a gentle, modest soul who, in the way she lived her life, showed us you could be a strong successful woman while also being kind, polite and respectful of others. In fact, a large part of her success as a mother and as an exceptional teacher is due to the respect she earned because she was kind, polite, strong yet respectful of others, as well as of course, her incredible work ethic. Mom, thank you for your selfless devotion to your children and grandchildren.Thank you for setting aside your very comfortable life in Trinidad and undertaking the incredible struggle you experienced in those early years as in immigrant in a new country, all so we could have a chance for a better life in Canada.Your children and grandchildren will ensure your legacy will never be forgotten. You will forever be in our thoughts and in our hearts.