CURRENT CELEBRATIONS

Ann Ross

If something happened on Helms Avenue, Ann knew about it. Probably before it happened. She kept watch over the street from her front porch. In Swedesboro, there were three ways to get word around: telegraph, telephone, and tell Ann Ross. And Ann didn’t just know who was doing what; she knew whose cousin they were and whose grandmother married whom. She could trace just about any family tree in Swedesboro, roots, branches and all. She was strong-willed and she was proud.

Ann was born June 27, 1932, in Camden and graduated from Haddon Heights High School in 1950. She worked at a hosiery mill in New York and in the claims department of a Philadelphia insurance company. Ann served her community in just about every way a town can be served. She was a crossing guard for 10 years and a bus aide for five, so a whole generation of Swedesboro kids crossed the street and climbed on the bus under her watchful eye. She was on call as the police matron for the local department; when a female prisoner needed searching, they called Ann. In the 1980s she worked at Swedesboro Pallet Co. and she was a member of the fire department auxiliary where she lent a hand at the carnival. She also had the reputation of having the most fun as a Girl Scout and Cub Scout leader. And through all of it she kept a home and raised a family. Of course, she found her real calling as a grandmother. She never missed an event and constantly treated them to the Hilltop and Swedesboro Diners.

Ann’s hands were never idle. She could crochet a pair of mittens in a night and a five-foot blanket in a week. She knitted for everyone, from kindergartners to cops, and plenty of Swedesboro schoolchildren made it through winter in mittens Ann made and gave away. Her afghans and quilts were her pride, from granny squares to popcorn stitch. Her taste in entertainment was eclectic: Elvis, Queen and Dean Martin; Are You Being Served? and Keeping Up Appearances; old westerns; and NASCAR, Dale Earnhardt in particular. And she was never without a book, constantly swapping them with her daughter.

She saw a handsome guy working at Neatherby’s service station, just across the street from her apartment. She and the late Bill Sr. would share a 52-year marriage blessed by three children, Bill Ross Jr. (Michelle), Judy Riek (David) and Jodie; her grandchildren, Stephanie, Erica (fiancé Noel Villanueva), Allison and Joseph. She is survived by her brother, Walter Johnson.

Come celebrate 94 great years Monday, October 19, 6 to 8:30 p.m. and Tuesday October 20, 9 to 11 a.m. at Daley Life Celebration Studio Swedesboro where you can tell a great story about Ann at the 11 a.m. storytime service. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Ann’s memory to the Friends of the Gloucester County Library System, 389 Wolfert Station Road, Mullica Hill, NJ 08062, with “Swedesboro Library” in the memo. https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.gcls.org/friends-of-the-gloucester-county-library-system/&source=gmail&ust=1792166487559000&sa=E