Kay Ross

Kay Ross (Carol Kay Purinton), 85, of Ithaca, New York, beloved wife of Dr. George E. Ross Jr., DVM, passed away on Saturday, August 24, 2024.

Born January 4, 1939 in Oklahoma, Kay spent her formative years in Shawnee Mission, Kansas, where she attended the same church and high school as George, her husband of 67 years.

The high school sweethearts married on December 26, 1957 and lived in Manhattan, Kansas, while George completed his veterinary degree at Kansas State University. After graduation, the couple moved with nine-month-old baby Don to Ithaca, where George interned at the New York State College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University. They planned for it to be one year, but with his appointment later to teacher and clinician, it turned out to be a lifetime adventure in Tompkins County.

In 1967, Kay, George, and children Don, Tom, and Amy moved to an on old farm on Irish Settlement Road, Dryden, where the family raised sheep, chickens, and geese, grew vegetables in an enormous garden, and Kay tended beautiful perennial borders. Longtime Dryden residents, the Rosses were active in the Dryden Presbyterian Church and school sports and activities. Kay was also a dedicated member of the Fortnightly Club.

In 1972, George started his own practice, the Colonial Veterinary Hospital, Triphammer Road. Kay’s hard work and support through the years were instrumental in the success of “the CVH.” After the children graduated from high school, the couple made homes in Cayuga Heights, on the lake in King Ferry, and until recently a town house in Ithaca.

The three most important things in Kay’s life were her faith, George, and her family. She relished her role as matriarch of three children, eight grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. She and George proudly attended all of the family hockey, soccer, and baseball games, track and swimming meets, band concerts, dance recitals, and other family events, including all high school and college graduations.

Well-known among family and friends for her creativity and devotion to helping others, Kay shared her many talents through the years to a multitude of organizations and causes, including Cub Scouts, 4-H, Fresh Air Fund, Saturday Matinee children’s music and theater program, Ithaca Garden Club, P.E.O. (Philanthropic Educational Organization) Sisterhood, and their homeowner’s association. For the past 16 years, Kay and George have been active members of Christ Chapel, Graham Road, where until her death she designed and arranged Sunday flowers, as well as arrangements for weddings and special occasions.

Kay was an avid seamstress, knitter, and fiber artist who spun wool and other natural materials, dyed yarns using natural dyes, wove on traditional looms, and taught and demonstrated these crafts at fairs and other events. One time she even turned hair from a client’s Samoyed into a sweater. In the 1970s, she and partner Linda Olds owned a yarn supply and fiber arts craft store in the Village of Dryden. In recent years, she enjoyed making glass bead jewelry and designing embroidery using the latest computer technology and sewing machines.

Her favorite pursuits, though, were gardening and floral design. She created hundreds of beautiful arrangements from her own gardens, as well as for Michaleen’s Florist & Greenhouse, where she worked after going back to school and earning a degree in horticulture from State University of New York College at Morrisville.

She loved decorating for all holidays, creating a mantle display, making new wreaths for the doors, and adding special touches throughout her home for family and friends to enjoy. Kay also spent countless hours making hand knitted and hand crafted Christmas gifts for her loved ones.

Kay is survived by her husband, George E. Ross, Jr.; brother, P. Thomas Purinton, DVM (Molly); sons Donald (Christine) and J. Thomas (Catherine), daughter, Amy Iles (David); grandchildren, David Iles (Kenna), Andy Iles (Erin), Emily Annicharico (Paul), Audrey Kwan (Kevin), and Sean, Gillian, Taylor (Sarah), and Kelsey Ross; and great-grandchildren,  Ava, Zara, and Mia Annicharico and Cameron, Mason, and Rory Iles.

Services will be held at 10 a.m., Saturday, August 31, 2024 at Christ Chapel, 160 Graham Road, Ithaca, NY with the Rev. Steven Felker officiating.

Greeting of the family with light refreshments will be held immediately following the service. Burial will be in Willow Glen Cemetery, Dryden, NY.