Waldo & Ruth Ross left us millions

By Mark Frost, Chronicle Editor

You probably have never even heard of the Waldo T. & Ruth S. Ross Charitable Trust Foundation — but it’s rapidly become an enormous, sometimes crucial benefactor to local organizations like the Chapman Historical Museum, Hyde Collection, three local churches and others.

The Foundation, started in 2009, has $6-million in assets. It was funded by the late low-profile couple who operated Ross’s Store, predecessor of the current Cleverdale Store on the east side of Lake George. These were not people who in any way exuded prominence or wealth.

“They were very cordial and congenial people, they were relatively private people, Waldo was a very unpretentious down to earth kind of guy,” recalls William Wetherbee, long-time board chairman of Cleverdale’s Lakeside Chapel, which has been a major beneficiary since the Ross Trust began in 2010.

Quiet LG couple owned store in Cleverdale for 20 years; their trusts, $6-million for 9 local causes

The Chronicle was unable to locate a photograph of Mr. Ross or his obituary. He died years before his wife Ruth, who died at the age of 93 in 2009, setting in motion the trust’s distributions.

Mrs. Ross’s obituary noted that she was “a long standing resident of Kattskill Bay” who “was born in Buffalo, N.Y….Ruth graduated from Williamsville High School and went on to work at Curtis Wright Aircraft where she met her husband. They were married for 50 years.

“Ruth and her husband moved to Lake Luzerne in the 1940s where Waldo’s sister and husband owned the Hidden Valley Ranch. In 1951, they bought what is now known as the Cleverdale Market. They operated it successfully for 20 years after which they retired to a home on Pilot Knob Road.

“Ruth loved the outdoors in all seasons, often cross country skiing across the ice to Lake George Village and gardening in the summer. She was a talented ceramic artist and maintained a studio in a chalet not far from her home. She attended Skidmore College’s Continuing Education program for over 10 years and volunteered at the Hyde Museum in Glens Falls. Ruth was also a longtime member of the Order of the Eastern Star.”

Harrisena Church: About the Rosses

The May 2015 “Harbinger,” a publication of Harrisena Community Church, added more detail, under the headline, “Thanks, Waldo and Ruth Ross.”

“Those whose lives go back a ways in this community will remember Waldo and Ruth Ross, long-time residents of Pilot Knob…They were selfless volunteers in the North Queensbury Rescue Squad, the North Queensbury Fire Department, the Hyde Museum, and many other community-directed organizations in our area.

“Unassuming folks and easy to talk to, the Rosses were perhaps the last couple you’d think capable of perpetuating the help they gave our community during their lifetimes through endowment of a perpetual trust.

“Waldo’s life was celebrated at Harrisena Church in 1994. Ruth died at age 93 in 2009. A year later, Harrisena Church learned it was specifically named as one of the beneficiaries of the Waldo T. Ross & Ruth S. Ross Charitable Trust.

“Annual grants we’ve received from that trust, adding up to over $100,000 over the past four years have allowed us to restore both the exterior and interior of our sanctuary, displace a bat population, replace doors and aging furnaces, and restore and upgrade the rectory. They have supported our summer vacation bible school and backpack program…”

In 2014, the Waldo T. and Ruth S. Ross Charitable Trust granted:

• $28,000 to the Chapman Historical Museum.
• $50,000 to the Salvation Army in Glens Falls.
• 58,000 to the Hyde Collection.
• $28,000 to the Lake George Opera Festival, now known as Opera Saratoga.
• $35,000 to Harrisena Community Church.
• $22,000 to Lakeside Chapel.
• $25,000 to Bay Road Presbyterian Church.
• $1,500 each to the North Queensbury Fire Fighters and the North Queensbury Rescue Squad.

Those organizations are the specific ones that the Ross Trust assists.

In all, it granted $249,000 in 2014 — and its largesse is growing.

“Last year we did $294,000,” said Robert Hafner, Glens Falls attorney who is one of the Ross charity’s three trustees, along with Laura Vamvalis, Vice-President and Trust Officer of Glens Falls National Bank, and Paul McPhillips, who succeeded Kevin O’Brien on the board.

Mr. Hafner said the trust grants “at least 5%” of its income each year.

Chapman: ‘Crucial to our survival’

What impact does its funding have?

“The Ross Trust has been crucial to our survival,” says Tim Weidner, executive director of the Chapman Historical Museum.

“I do not think that overstates how important this new source of income has been in the last few years. The Trust was established coincidentally with reductions we experienced in government funding.

“We had trimmed our expenditures and exhausted our reserves after the economic downturn, so new cuts in funding were quite troubling. The Ross Trust has enabled us to address capital repairs, invest in new computers and exhibit furniture, and create a new orientation exhibit, and it also has provided support for our core activities such as our educational programs.

“In 2016, we applied for and received $21,000 in general support of the programs we have planned for the year. Considering that most foundation grants are project specific, general program support is quite welcome! It helps keep our doors open.

“It is my understanding that the Rosses valued the institutions that contributed to the quality of life in the local community, and wished to see their long term vitality. Their wisdom and generosity are remarkable.”

Hyde: Enables free programs

Erin Coe, executive director of the Hyde Collection, noted that Mrs. Ross had been a docent and volunteer at the museum.

Ms. Coe said, “Specifically, funds received this year from the Ross Trust went toward exhibitions such as Christo & Jeanne-Claude and Dürer & Rembrandt, in addition to allowing us to expand our educational offerings including our K through 12 school programs, workshops and tours, ARTfull Afternoons, Tours for Tots, Drop in and Draw, and STEAM Sunday.

“Most importantly this funding ensures that we can offer free programs for students and families, free community days, free second Sundays; and free Senior Days on Wednesday. We are committed to making the Museum accessible and open to all and it is because of the Ross Charitable Trust that this level of accessibility is possible.”

A history of the Lakeside Chapel in Cleverdale notes, “More recently, the Chapel has been the fortunate beneficiary of annual and generous financial grants from the Waldo T. Ross and Ruth S. Ross Charitable Trust. These resources have enabled Chapel Trustees to complete a number of major projects on the facility and grounds which would have otherwise not been possible.

“From its completion, the Chapel had secured water from a neighbor via pipeline, but its water system is now self-contained. Major restorative stone work on the Chapel foundation, roadside perimeter, and waterfront has been completed. The historic and unique stained glass throughout the Chapel has been rehabilitated and, where necessary, repaired. Pews have been cushioned, lighting has been enhanced and made more energy efficient, and utility services have been buried. Such initiatives have been possible only through Ross Charitable Trust grants.”

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The Chronicle wants to learn more about Waldo and Ruth Ross and especially seeks a photo of the couple. If you can assist, please email Mark Frost at chronicle@loneoak.com or write The Chronicle, P.O. Box 153, Glens Falls, NY 12801. Thanks.

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Editor’s follow-up: After the Chronicle story on the Roses was published, Jim Schoonover of the North Queensbury Volunteer Fire company called and added some detail about Waldo and Ruth Ross.

Mr. Schoonover said the fire company was formed in 1948 and that the minutes show “Waldo joined on April 5, 1951.”

He was elected vice-president in May 1953 and continued in that role in 1954, 1955 and 1956. In 1957, he was elected president and continued serving in that position in 1958.

Ruth Ross was made an honorary member on Dec. 1, 1960.

“They answered the fire phone before the 9-1-1 system,” said Mr. Schoonover. “They answered the phone during the daytime at the store. Waldo drove the ambulance a lot of times during the day” for the North Queensbury Rescue Squad.

Mr. Schoonover said, “They were just regular down-to-earth people. You would never know they had any money at all.”

Mr. Ross was also a fire company director in 1959, 1960 and 1961 and did another stint as vice-president in 1966-1967.

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