Renate Irmgard Ross, age 78, of McKinney, Texas, passed away January 30, 2015. Renate was born March 20, 1936, in Frankfurt, Germany, to Eduard and Auguste (Oberdieck) Ehrhardt. She married Forest Blaine Ross in October of 1966, in Portland, Oregon.
She was born the younger of two siblings and her sister recognized early on that Renate was a very strong and determined person. As a young lady, she was employed at a hospital in Frankfurt, Germany as an Administrative Assistant. She loved life and loved to travel. In the beginning of her adventures Italy was one of her favorite countries. She also loved to dance and Blaine was the right partner for that. The marriage to Blaine changed the course of her whole life. One price that military families pay is the frequent moving and being apart from each other. The benefit to this is she was given the opportunity to meet interesting people at exciting places. Blaine also brought Jim into their lives. As with most things in life, the best does not come easy. Over the years, they truly became mother and son, dropping the “step-son/step-mother” during introductions. Renate loved to laugh and with her dry humor and a twinkle in her eye, made people around her laugh as well. She was always direct and to the point - questioning - and then making up her own mind. She never gave her heart lightly, but once she let you in, you had a true friend for life. All that knew her will always remember a very strong, elegant lady with a huge heart.
A heartfelt gratefulness goes to Angelika Osbon, Shirley McDowell, Renate’s daily care giver, Sarah and the whole Amity team for being there for her with unsurpassed dedication to make her feel at home, loved and well taken care of.
She is survived by her sister, Irene Osbon of McKinney, Texas; step-son, James B. Ross and wife, Conny of Kaiserslautern, Germany; nieces, Peggy MaGill and husband, Charles of Wylie, Texas and Angelika Osbon and partner, Shirley McDowell of McKinney, Texas; and nephew, James Osbon and wife, Elaine of Haughton, Louisiana.
She was preceded in death by her husband, parents, and brother-in-law, Bill Osbon.
A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m., Friday, March 20, 2015, at Turrentine-Jackson-Morrow Chapel in Allen, Texas.