Barbara S. (Ross) Gillette (1928-2016)

GILLETTE, ROSS, CARR, PIERCE

Posted By: Mark Christian
Date: 12/3/2016 at 14:02:17

Obituary From Adams Soderstrum Funeral Home, Story County, Iowa.

Barbara S. Gillette, 88, of Ames, passed away December 1, 2016. A Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, December 6 at St. Cecilia Catholic Church in Ames. The family will greet friends beginning at 9:00 a.m. Burial will be at Ames Municipal Cemetery.

Barbara died Thursday, December 1, 2016 at Israel Family Hospice House in Ames. She was born May 9, 1928 in Lovilia, Iowa to the late Robert and Catherine (Carr) Ross and spent her childhood in Iowa and Wisconsin. She was a student of the Sisters of Mercy for 11 years and graduated from Mercy High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1946. The nuns were an important part of her life and responsible for shaping her deep Catholic faith.

Upon graduating from high school, she worked as a portrait photographer's assistant in Milwaukee until 1948. From 1948 to 1956 she was a medical technician at the Marquette University Medical School in Milwaukee. From 1956 to 1965 she was a medical technician for Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, in the Department of Animal Science and Department of Veterinary Medicine, where she met her husband, Dr. Kenneth G. Gillette. They were married April 28, 1962 at the Church of the Blessed Sacrament in West Lafayette. He preceded her in death on Oct. 27, 2013.

Barbara and Ken lived in Madison, Wisconsin from 1965 to 1970 when they moved to Ames. She was a longtime member of the Ames Woman's Club, and a volunteer for FISH of Ames, Birthright of Ames, Riverside Manor and Care Review at Riverside Manor. In 2000, she and Ken were among the original residents to move into the Windsor Oaks Retirement Community, where she was a participant and planner in numerous activities and committees.

Barbara and her husband were longtime members of St. Cecilia Catholic Church in Ames where she was active in the Catholic Daughters of America and the St. Anne Circle. She was a volunteer in the St. Cecilia School library for many decades.

Barbara lived a life of faith and grace and will be remembered for her warmth and wit. Along with a large, loving extended family, she had a wide circle of friends encompassing all ages.

In addition to her husband and parents, Barbara was preceded in death by two sisters, Mary Pat Pierce and Bridget Ross; and two brothers, Daniel Ross and Timothy Ross. She is survived by a sister-in-law, Susie Ross of Los Angeles, California, numerous nieces and nephews; several godchildren, as well as four children very special in her life, Ben, Aliza, Anna and Jake.

Donations may be made to St. Cecilia Catholic Church or Israel Family Hospice House.

http://www.adamssoderstrum.com/
 

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