Charles Bryan Ross

Charles Bryan Ross was born on August 30, 1935, in Medina, upstate New York, along the Erie Canal. He grew up in the nearby village of Akron, between Buffalo and Rochester – situated between two Tonawanda Native American reservations. He was the firstborn of Adrian and Mary Ross.

Growing up, he participated in family and community activities, helping his dad run the family businesses, a paint store and a funeral home. Bryan helped drive the family hearse, which also was used by the small community as an ambulance, which not only took women in labor to the hospital but also picked up injured people from auto and other accidents. Bryan enjoyed playing sports - football, basketball, and baseball - throughout his youth. While he was recruited by and tried out for the New York Yankees farm team, he was set on attending college at the University of Notre Dame.

He graduated high school with academic and sports honors in 1953 and then from the University of Notre Dame in 1957 with cum laude honors with a bachelor of science degree, subsequently entering medical school at Johns Hopkins University, where he met his wife, Mary Jane.

After his first year, he decided medical school wasn't the right path and instead enlisted in the U.S. Army. He graduated from Officer Candidate School, Airborne, Ranger, and communications courses before deploying to the Eighth Infantry Division in Mainz and Baumholder, Germany, where he commanded a company and was the battalion communication and supply officer with the 504th Airborne. He enjoyed knowing that this unit had gained the nickname "devils in baggy pants" during World War II from fearful Nazi troops.

Upon returning to the U.S., he graduated from the Infantry Officers Advanced Course and was assigned to the First Infantry Division in Vietnam, where he served as headquarters commandant of the Third (Iron) Brigade, based at Lai Khe, a French rubber plantation.

Upon returning to the US, Bryan was accepted in the Foreign Area Specialist Training Program for Iran, which included a year studying Farsi at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA. He then earned a Master of Arts in Middle Eastern Studies in 1970 from the University of Utah. From 1970 to 1974, the family was stationed in Tehran, Iran, where Bryan served as Training and Operations Advisor to Iran's infantry, armored, airborne, and gendarmerie forces. The family returned to the U.S. in 1974, where Bryan was assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency and was a Persian Gulf-Iran military and political analyst until retiring in 2009 at the age of 74.

Bryan was happiest when surrounded by his large family. He was blessed with five sons and the patience that was required to raise them. He led with generosity and service to his family, and a big smile to anyone he met. He coached baseball teams with each of the boys, led several high school ski trips to Canada, and was a consistent short-order cook after sleep-over parties. Sunday steak dinners were the norm, with after-dinner activities involving pitching baseballs to the grandkids as soon as they could stand and coaching them as they ran the bases in the backyard. He was an ever-constant source of encouragement and support for the entire Ross family.

He was preceded in death by his mother (Mary), father (Adrian), brother (David), and Grandson (Connor).

He is survived by his wife of sixty-four years, Mary Jane (nee Kucera), sister Judy Ross Gori; five sons, Peter (Whitney), Daniel (Tanya), Andrew, Phillip (Ylang), and Matthew (Courtnie); 16 grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.

A viewing, mass, and celebration of life reception will be held at St. Ambrose Catholic Church on Saturday, July 13, 2024 starting at 11 am for visitation and mass at 12 pm. Burial will take place at a later date at Arlington National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations are accepted to the Native American Rights Fund.

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