Alberta B. (Barkley) Ross
July 26, 1928 ~ March 4, 2023 (age 94)
Obituary
Alberta Barkley Ross, age 94, died on March 4, 2023 at Holy Cross Village, where she has lived since 2007.
She was born July 26, 1928, in the small town of Moores Hill, Indiana, daughter of Lawrence Houston Barkley, the postmaster, and Stella Olcott Wright Barkley, the bank teller. Alberta received her bachelor’s degree from Purdue at age 19, and went on to get further degrees from Washington University and University of Maryland, where she earned a PhD in 1957. There she met and married her husband of 46 years, Joseph Hansbro Ross, a chemistry professor at IUSB.
Alberta and Joe Ross moved to South Bend, Indiana in 1963 which has been her home for 60 years. She was employed by the University of Notre Dame as the head of the Radiation Chemistry Data Center and retired in 1996 after nearly 30 years of service. She was an active volunteer in service to the community and to her faith community. She and her family were long time parishioners of Little Flower where she served in many capacities such as the food pantry, the liturgy and the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults - bringing people to the Church through the sacraments). She loved her faith community and truly embodied the spirit of Vatican II. For the last years she has shared community with the Church of Loretto on St. Mary’s campus. She touched many lives with her kindness and wisdom, and she will be sorely missed.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Joseph Ross, and her sister, Edith Hughes. She is survived by her daughters Mary Ross and Kathleen Ross Jarrell (John), her sons Joseph Hansbro Ross Jr. (Leslie) and Robert Barkley Ross (Mersina), grandsons Steven Ross, David Ross and Ross Jarrell, and granddaughters Rebecca Ross, Jessica Ross, Anne Frances Jarrell and Leah Jarrell.
You are invited to a celebration of her life with us and her New Life in eternity at Holy Cross Village, Andre Place, Geenen Hall on April 14 at 10:30 am. Her family will gather at Cedar Grove Cemetery, Notre Dame, Indiana on April 14, 2023, where she will be interred. Palmer Funeral Homes – Hickey Chapel is handling the arrangements for the family.
In lieu of flowers, Alberta would like us to donate to any of our favorite charities in her name.
Online condolences may be left for the family at www.palmerfuneralhomes.com.