Sanford Ross

Mr. Sanford Ross of Tampa passed away Friday, July 17, 2020.  Funeral services will be conducted Saturday, July 25 at 2:00 p.m. at The Lowry Center at Beulah Baptist Institutional Church, 1006 W. Cypress Street. Please follow the CDC guidelines.  Seating will be limited.  For the opportunity to view the service via Live Stream, please visit the church website at www.bbictampa.com. Interment will follow in Rest Haven Memorial Park Cemetery. A Repast will not be held due to COVID-19. 

Mr. Sanford Ross was a native of Haddock, Georgia and a resident of Tampa for 75 years.  He began his education with Dobyville Elementary, George Washington Carver, and was a graduate of Howard W. Blake High School, Class of 1962.  Mr. Ross continued his education with Fort Valley College where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in education and with the University of Tampa, where he earned his Master degree. 

Mr. Ross was a member of Beulah Baptist Institutional Church where he served faithfully in the office of a Deacon. His love for God, the Church and the Community was evident to all who had an opportunity to meet him.  He was employed by the School District of Hillsborough County where he coached football at Jefferson High School and worked with special need children.  Deacon Ross touched the lives of many by his love for others. 

He was preceded in death by: his parents, Sanford and Cora Ross; aunt, Mattie Smith; uncles, James and Homer Tuff.  

He leaves to cherish his memory: his loving and devoted wife, Claudia Ross; four children, Derrick Ross, Charles Harrell (Patricia), Monica Ray (Kevin), and Gregory Harris (Cathy); six grandchildren, Kianna Ross, Cora Ross, Sherrelle H. Fagan, Mariah Ray, Quintin Ray and Camille Ray; 3 great grandchildren, Joshua Ray, Langston Fagan and Everson-Rose Fagan; one sister, Essie M. Martin of Detroit, MI; uncle, Wiley Tuft (Julia) of Grey, GA, cousins, Mildred S. Jones, Anne Little, Dahila Casey, Pearl Marchman, Raynard Tuft, Donald Tuft, Frank Moss (Annett), Tony and Bettye Brown, Joni Harris (Tyrone); and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, devoted lifetime friends, John Williams and David Williams, his Beulah Baptist Church Family, Elementary, High School, and College friends and colleagues. 

The Visitation will be held Friday, July 24, from 3 to 7 p.m. at Ray Williams Funeral Home, 301 N. Howard Avenue.  We are asking family and friends to follow the CDC guidelines. Masks are required.

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