We Remember
ROSS, Oril Alfred Joseph
—
August 11, 1932 – April 14, 2021
It is with great sadness that we announce the sudden passing of our beloved husband, father, grandfather, uncle, and friend, Oril Alfred Joseph Ross, at age 88, on April 14, 2021 in Kelowna, BC.
He was born August 11th, 1932 in Woodridge, Manitoba on a little farm where he lived with his parents & siblings. The Ross Boys were a tough bunch in that neck of the woods! When he married, he moved to Hudson’s Hope to work on the WAC Bennett Dam. He later moved to Mission to work on the Mission Bridge, the Pitt Meadows Bridge, Gold River Bridge – he lived in Quebec and NFLD to work on a couple more dams. He worked his way from laborer to superintendent – a great accomplishment for someone with a grade 3 education – back in the day – you had to work the farm to support the family. He retired from construction in 1979 & relocated to Kelowna to carry on working the orchards, and retired from that in about 1984. He built numerous family homes for us along the way!
Dad was a social butterfly – making friends with strangers in lineups, always bringing a smile to people around him, always looking to prank someone and have fun. He loved to entertain and take care of people – “Hotel Ross” is famous for those visiting the Okanagan, he & Mom spared nothing to take care of you! He had the biggest heart of anyone we know.
He was predeceased by his 2 daughters, Dawn (d. 2000) and Cheryl (d. 2011); and his siblings Tanya, Robert and Endy. His is survived by his wife of 64 years, Lulubelle; daughter Cindy & her husband Rick of Sidney; daughter Nancy and her son Ignatious both of Kelowna; son Brian & his wife Wendy and their daughter Emily all of Abbotsford; grandson Brandon, Dawn’s son; and siblings Octave & Aaron, Henrietta & Doreen.
A Graveside Service with Father Pat Monette presiding will be held to honour Oril at Kelowna Memorial Park Cemetery. Due to the current pandemic restrictions, it will be by invitation only. However, the family would like to invite all who want to pay their respects to join by Livestream on [TUESDAY, APRIL 20, 2021 at 11:30 AM (PST). A recording will be made available to view shortly thereafter.
In lieu of flowers, Dad wanted donations to go to the Diabetes Society, www.diabetes.ca.
If you wish to send a condolence, post photos, or share a memory please scroll down the page to the area called “Condolences”.
Lu, Cindy, Nancy & family
My most sincere condolences on the passing of Oril.. He was a terrific husband, father, grandfather and friend. Never a dull moment when Oril was around. I have many great memories of times spent with all of you. Oril the Master of bbq turkey and trying to get people to eat his chicken feet.!!!! He was the man.
Love to all of you
Hugs . Wendy
Our sincere heartfelt thoughts and condolences to you all. We will all miss seeing Uncle Oril. He always had a great story to tell, and so active. We all love hearing about his escapades. It was so nice to get a big bear hug whenever we visited.
He was also ready and willing to help with what ever you were doing, or put on the bbq for the delicious dinners he and Lou put together. Love you all family. Until we see you again Uncle we love you. You will be so missed♥️♥️
My heart and spirit is with you all, He will be missed by all. Love to you Lu and all the children xoxo
Celebrating the life of a good man and mourning his passing with you.
Our condolences to the family. We have shared so much over the years ,enjoyed the celebrations the laughter and tears. .You will be remembered.
I am very sorry for your loss and wish your family strength during this difficult time.
Tracy Gray, Member of Parliament, Kelowna – Lake Country
My sincerest and condolences to the entire Ross family. Uncle Oril always made sure that my Dad (Spud Murphy) and us boys (Neil and Aaron) were part of the family regardless of how long ago my Mom, Tanya, passed away back in 1977. Many years ago, I took my family golfing at a local course in Kelowna. My kids, Melissa and Aidan were little but were golfing with my wife Lydia. Of all people that we run into was uncle Oril!! He recognized me and I immediately recognized him! I called him Uncle Octave, but I knew who he was. After that moment, we had a wonderful relationship with Uncle Oril and Auntie Lu and the rest of their family. They loved my Dad Spud and they kept in constant contact with him over the years. Now, every time Evelyn and I get the chance to go to Kelowna, we patch in to say hi. Love you Auntie Lu, Cindy, Brian, Nancy and Ignatious. God Bless uncle Oril. The Murphy family love you and hope you keep curling and golfing in heaven.
Unfortunately I have to send my most dearest condolences to the Ross family. vs being there in person. I wish I could be there with you all to help see you through this. Oril and the whole Ross family for that matter was a big part of my life then and it remains so now. I remember Oril’s super funny sense of humor, his laugh, his prowess with the BBQ and of course his awful tasting home brew (my tongue is still burnt). Again, I wish I could have been there but I will stop by this summer and say hi to you all. See you all soon and again, my deepest condolences from the Craig and Corinne Labas
our hearts are with you auntie Lu and my cousins sorry I couldn’t be there with you but we are there in spirit was a lovely service under the circumstances Bob and I watched it hugs from Myrna , Bob , Kathi, Jerry, Patience , Crystal , Cory , Ivan and Charles xoxoxoxoxo
I send my condolences to you all and my prayers. My heart is with you all Ross. Love from Neil.
Auntie, Nancy, Cindy, Brian & entire Ross family
My deepest sympathies on hearing the passing of Uncle Oril. On behalf of Shannon and the rest of the Manitoba clan over here on prairie land, we have all of you in our thoughts. It looked to be another beautiful Kelowna day and very fitting for this send off service for Oril! He will be missed dearly and ( I shouldn’t really say this)….my favorite Uncle….for I always enjoyed the family get togethers & visits with all of the normal what have you that went on. And Uncle’s tremendously loud laugh and tremendously loud shirts! I have fond memories of Kelowna, the apples, the chickens and cutting the field sometimes twice in a day simply because I wanted to use the tractor….and Uncle was a huge part of all of those memories as a child. Even in the midst of all of this Covid stuff……I am so glad I made the trip out there last May for a visit.
With Much Love
Shawn
So sorry that you and the family are going through this sadness and loss. We will miss Oril so much. Always enjoyed our visits. He had such a great smile and never ending humor. Our sympathy and love are with you,
Sandra and Jim Chase
What a beautiful send off for a wonderful husband, father, grandfather. We just had the opportunity to view. Our heartfelt sympathies to all of you. Cherish the memories of a wonderful man.