When Vivian H. Ross made her decision to retire at the age of 65 after a 40-year career as an educator, administrator and social worker, she wasn't quite ready for the rocking chair.
Instead, the longtime Detroit resident and mother of two focused her abundant energy on the establishment of a facility capable of providing a first-class learning center for the city's children.
The result was the Plymouth Educational Center, an elementary charter school on Detroit's east side. When it opened in 1999, it was the first new construction of a school in the city of Detroit since 1984. Through her tireless efforts, Mrs. Ross was responsible for acquiring much of the primary funding needed for the facility.
Mrs. Ross died Tuesday at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit of complications from a stroke and brain hemorrhage. She was 82.
"Her greatest accomplishment, as far as I'm concerned, was her stick-to-itiveness in getting the school built," said Jessie Kilgore, chief administrative officer for the Plymouth Educational Center. "The fact that she still had the commitment to the children and the city and was willing to take on the project at her age was astounding and says a lot about her character."
As a result of her dedication, the name of the school was changed in 2004 to the Plymouth Educational Center Vivian H. Ross campus. Mrs. Ross was the center's first chief administrator.
"My mother believed that academic excellence was not a function of your economic situation," said her oldest daughter, Elizabeth Lyra-Ross-Norman. "No matter how little money you had you could still be smart and do math and the school was a testament to that fact."
Born Vivian Hudson in Birmingham, Ala., she attended Talladega College in Alabama, graduating in 1947 with majors in psychology and sociology.
Two years later, she received a master's degree in social work from the University of Michigan.
She was a psychiatric social worker with the Michigan Department of Welfare based at Wayne County General Hospital and Detroit Receiving Hospital for nearly a decade. During that time she married Samuel Ross.
In 1959, she was hired by Highland Park Schools as a social worker and started teaching at Highland Park Community College in 1970. During that time she received a PhD in higher education administration from U-M. She retired as president of the community college in 1991.
In addition to her daughter, survivors include another daughter, Cynthia Ross, and several nieces and nephews. Funeral services were held at Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ, 600 E. Warren, Detroit. She was buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit.
Instead, the longtime Detroit resident and mother of two focused her abundant energy on the establishment of a facility capable of providing a first-class learning center for the city's children.
The result was the Plymouth Educational Center, an elementary charter school on Detroit's east side. When it opened in 1999, it was the first new construction of a school in the city of Detroit since 1984. Through her tireless efforts, Mrs. Ross was responsible for acquiring much of the primary funding needed for the facility.
Mrs. Ross died Tuesday at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit of complications from a stroke and brain hemorrhage. She was 82.
"Her greatest accomplishment, as far as I'm concerned, was her stick-to-itiveness in getting the school built," said Jessie Kilgore, chief administrative officer for the Plymouth Educational Center. "The fact that she still had the commitment to the children and the city and was willing to take on the project at her age was astounding and says a lot about her character."
As a result of her dedication, the name of the school was changed in 2004 to the Plymouth Educational Center Vivian H. Ross campus. Mrs. Ross was the center's first chief administrator.
"My mother believed that academic excellence was not a function of your economic situation," said her oldest daughter, Elizabeth Lyra-Ross-Norman. "No matter how little money you had you could still be smart and do math and the school was a testament to that fact."
Born Vivian Hudson in Birmingham, Ala., she attended Talladega College in Alabama, graduating in 1947 with majors in psychology and sociology.
Two years later, she received a master's degree in social work from the University of Michigan.
She was a psychiatric social worker with the Michigan Department of Welfare based at Wayne County General Hospital and Detroit Receiving Hospital for nearly a decade. During that time she married Samuel Ross.
In 1959, she was hired by Highland Park Schools as a social worker and started teaching at Highland Park Community College in 1970. During that time she received a PhD in higher education administration from U-M. She retired as president of the community college in 1991.
In addition to her daughter, survivors include another daughter, Cynthia Ross, and several nieces and nephews. Funeral services were held at Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ, 600 E. Warren, Detroit. She was buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit.
When Vivian H. Ross made her decision to retire at the age of 65 after a 40-year career as an educator, administrator and social worker, she wasn't quite ready for the rocking chair.
Instead, the longtime Detroit resident and mother of two focused her abundant energy on the establishment of a facility capable of providing a first-class learning center for the city's children.
The result was the Plymouth Educational Center, an elementary charter school on Detroit's east side. When it opened in 1999, it was the first new construction of a school in the city of Detroit since 1984. Through her tireless efforts, Mrs. Ross was responsible for acquiring much of the primary funding needed for the facility.
Mrs. Ross died Tuesday at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit of complications from a stroke and brain hemorrhage. She was 82.
"Her greatest accomplishment, as far as I'm concerned, was her stick-to-itiveness in getting the school built," said Jessie Kilgore, chief administrative officer for the Plymouth Educational Center. "The fact that she still had the commitment to the children and the city and was willing to take on the project at her age was astounding and says a lot about her character."
As a result of her dedication, the name of the school was changed in 2004 to the Plymouth Educational Center Vivian H. Ross campus. Mrs. Ross was the center's first chief administrator.
"My mother believed that academic excellence was not a function of your economic situation," said her oldest daughter, Elizabeth Lyra-Ross-Norman. "No matter how little money you had you could still be smart and do math and the school was a testament to that fact."
Born Vivian Hudson in Birmingham, Ala., she attended Talladega College in Alabama, graduating in 1947 with majors in psychology and sociology.
Two years later, she received a master's degree in social work from the University of Michigan.
She was a psychiatric social worker with the Michigan Department of Welfare based at Wayne County General Hospital and Detroit Receiving Hospital for nearly a decade. During that time she married Samuel Ross.
In 1959, she was hired by Highland Park Schools as a social worker and started teaching at Highland Park Community College in 1970. During that time she received a PhD in higher education administration from U-M. She retired as president of the community college in 1991.
In addition to her daughter, survivors include another daughter, Cynthia Ross, and several nieces and nephews. Funeral services were held at Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ, 600 E. Warren, Detroit. She was buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit.
Instead, the longtime Detroit resident and mother of two focused her abundant energy on the establishment of a facility capable of providing a first-class learning center for the city's children.
The result was the Plymouth Educational Center, an elementary charter school on Detroit's east side. When it opened in 1999, it was the first new construction of a school in the city of Detroit since 1984. Through her tireless efforts, Mrs. Ross was responsible for acquiring much of the primary funding needed for the facility.
Mrs. Ross died Tuesday at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit of complications from a stroke and brain hemorrhage. She was 82.
"Her greatest accomplishment, as far as I'm concerned, was her stick-to-itiveness in getting the school built," said Jessie Kilgore, chief administrative officer for the Plymouth Educational Center. "The fact that she still had the commitment to the children and the city and was willing to take on the project at her age was astounding and says a lot about her character."
As a result of her dedication, the name of the school was changed in 2004 to the Plymouth Educational Center Vivian H. Ross campus. Mrs. Ross was the center's first chief administrator.
"My mother believed that academic excellence was not a function of your economic situation," said her oldest daughter, Elizabeth Lyra-Ross-Norman. "No matter how little money you had you could still be smart and do math and the school was a testament to that fact."
Born Vivian Hudson in Birmingham, Ala., she attended Talladega College in Alabama, graduating in 1947 with majors in psychology and sociology.
Two years later, she received a master's degree in social work from the University of Michigan.
She was a psychiatric social worker with the Michigan Department of Welfare based at Wayne County General Hospital and Detroit Receiving Hospital for nearly a decade. During that time she married Samuel Ross.
In 1959, she was hired by Highland Park Schools as a social worker and started teaching at Highland Park Community College in 1970. During that time she received a PhD in higher education administration from U-M. She retired as president of the community college in 1991.
In addition to her daughter, survivors include another daughter, Cynthia Ross, and several nieces and nephews. Funeral services were held at Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ, 600 E. Warren, Detroit. She was buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit.
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