Ross Pearson

ALMA, Wis. – Ross Regnald Pearson, 86, passed away Friday, Dec. 5, 2014, at his longtime home in Alma. He was born July 28, 1928, in Redwood Falls, Minn., to Lyle Edmund and Elsie Sophia (Weiler) Pearson. Ross moved in 1947 to Alma, where he met and later married Dorothy Margaret Averbeck on Oct. 18, 1949, at St. Lawrence Catholic Church. Together they had seven children. Ross was skilled at many jobs throughout his lifetime. He worked at the La Crosse Milling Company in Cochrane, Wis., as well as in construction around the Alma area. Ross helped build the church in which he was married and the American Legion in Alma, among other historic buildings. After leaving construction, Ross became a poultry farmer, raising turkeys and later laying hens for a hatchery in Arcadia, Wis. Ross also ran the meat market in Alma for a number of years, and he and Dorothy worked together at the Winona Glove Company. They then pursued milking a registered Jersey herd. It was an adventure that they continued in until Dorothy passed away in March 1984. The 1980s brought great change for Ross. He married Bibi Schadt in June 1986, and he started driving school bus for the Cochrane-Fountain City School District. For 30 years, Ross picked students up in the early morning, dropped them off after school, and watched them win and lose countless sporting events as he took them to and from Pirates’ away games. In addition to driving school bus, Ross delivered newspapers and brought meals to senior citizens for many years through the Buffalo County Meals on Wheels program. He befriended many of the program’s participants and often visited them to check in or just to say hello. Ross retired at 80-years-old from driving school bus and delivering meals. In retirement, he enjoyed working with Bibi on the Alma Beautification Club. He also took up woodworking in the shop on his bluff-top farm, where he handcrafted intricate cedar chests up until his death. Ross also read voraciously, often working his way through three or more books at one time and sharing their plots with friends and family. He, too, was an avid movie-goer. Every Sunday he drove to the theater in Winona for a matinee. At his home, Ross enjoyed loading his John Deere Gator up with family members and treating them to tours of his land. His adventures late in life reflected the active lifestyle he maintained in his youth, including the many hunting and fishing trips he loved taking to Montana, Wyoming, and the Canadian wilderness. Ross is preceded in death by his wife, Dorothy (Averbeck) Pearson; Bibi (Schadt) Pearson; his parents, Lyle and Elsie Pearson; a brother, Norman Pearson, brothers-in-law, Norbert Ludwigson and Charles Breehne; and a sister-in-law, Deloine Pearson. He is survived by his sisters Iris (Andy) Monda of Ohio and Katherine Ludgwigson of Bloomer, Wis.; his brother, Emery Pearson of St. Louis; a sister-in-law, Inger Pearson of Dodge Center, Minn.; his seven children, Randy (Rose) Pearson, Nancy (Chuck) Baker, Steve (Insook) Pearson, Jim (Wendy) Pearson, LuAnn (Rick) Flury, Dan (Jennifer) Pearson, and Kevin (Doreen) Pearson; his grandchildren, Derek and Nicole, Dawn and Cory, Steve Jr., Mandy, and Cody, Lindsey and Amy, Justin, Jarett, and Jordan; and six great-grandchildren. Memorial services will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 10 at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Alma with Pastor Joel Bacon officiating. Visitation will be held at 11 a.m. until the time of services at the church. Pallbearers include Cory Baker and Justin, Jarett, and Jordan Pearson. Talbot Funeral Home of Alma is assisting the family with arrangements.