Marietta College is mourning the loss of a longtime faculty and staff member who impacted the lives of countless students during a nearly 25-year tenure.
Dr. Margaret Ross, Marietta’s former Counseling Center Director and Professor of Counseling Services, died on April 2nd in Marietta. She was 91.
She came to Marietta in 1967 as a counselor. In 1968, she began a program of small group counseling sessions for students and became the Director of the Counseling Center. She also served as a freshman orientation director, trainer for the Institute for Education and Training in Business, a professor in the McDonough Leadership Program, and as an ancillary staff member for Marietta Memorial Hospital’s Mental Health Unit. She also wrote two books and numerous professional articles.
In an interview she gave to The Marcolian in 1992 regarding her pending retirement, she talked about the relationships she had forged with students over the course of a quarter-century.
“I see myself as a planter of seeds and I have no control of when the seeds will germinate and grow,” she said. “I just have to trust that they will and that different people will grow at a different rate.”
Though she retired in 1992 from her full-time duties at the College, she continued to teach in the McDonough Leadership Program.
“My relationship with the students at Marietta College has been very challenging and rewarding because some of you found the courage to come talk with me,” she wrote in her final Marcolian column. “I have many positive memories of my encounters and through the years have developed some strong ties. It will be hard to walk out of my office for the last time. The only reason I can do that is that I know through other programs I will continue to have a challenging relationship with students in the classroom.”
Visitation will be from 5:00-7:00 p.m., Friday, April 6th, at the Marietta Chapel of Cawley & Peoples Funeral Home, located at 408 Front St. Dr. Ross’ service will be held at 4:00 p.m., Saturday, April 7th, at the First Presbyterian Church, located at 501 Fourth St. in Marietta. Her family requests, in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be made to Marietta College of the First Presbyterian Church.