Thomas Allen Ross, 85, of Menasha passed away peacefully Jan. 9, 2022, with his wife at his side. He was born in Rhinelander, Wis., to Angeline Elizabeth Bertha Anderson Gilley and Frank Thomas Gilley. He was later adopted by his stepfather, Donald Ross.
Tom graduated from Rhinelander High School in 1954 and from DeVry Tech of Chicago with a degree in Radio and TV Repair. He earned his FCC First Class Radiotelegraph License, then enlisted in the Army Signal Corps, serving an MP post near the Korean DMZ.
He married Jolene Dahlvig of Rhinelander in 1962 and built a home in Irma. Tom worked for the State of Wisconsin, first as part of a highway marking crew, then the Conversation Department (now DNR), serving as North Central Region Communications Technician until his retirement in 1994.
As an advanced class amateur (HAM) radio license K9GTQ, he talked with hams in over 100 countries and was the first person to earn CQ magazine’s USA-Counties Award on two bands for talking with other hams in each USA county. He loved to travel and visited the 48 contiguous United States as well as Canada, Mexico, Korea and Japan.
He is survived by his wife, Jolene; daughters, Kristi (Brian Clausen) Ross-Clausen of Appleton and Ruth (Mike) Tress of Wausau; grandchildren, Alexander Clausen (fiancé’ Amalie Ludwig) of Appleton, Carl Bartaszewicz of Wausau, Jessica (Jake Kalmon) Bartaszewicz of Medford; and great-grandsons, Ryker and Marek Kalmon.
Burial will be in Forest Home Cemetery, Rhinelander, in the spring.
The family would like to thank Oak Park place staff and Christina and Danielle from Moments Hospice for their care and concern for Tom and his family.