By Eric Todd
Dean Ross (left) and LaVerne Myers (right) were inducted into the USAWA Hall of Fame at the 2019 National Championships.
I heard the news on March 10th from a post Francis Brebner, of Highland Games fame, made on Facebook. Our brother and friend, Dean Ross, has passed away. I knew that Dean was in poor health from another post from Francis on January 17th, but had some concerns prior to that. He has been to more than his share of meets contested at my house over the years. A couple of years ago he came to one and did not seem to be doing too well. The next time I saw him, he was lifting here again, and seemed to be doing much better. He told me about all he had gone through health wise, and how he was on the mend. His health seemed to have improved. The next time he came out, he seemed to be doing better yet, but he brought me a bunch of his weights and stuff to give to me. While I appreciated him passing it down to me, this gesture had me concerned. Back in September 2022, I got a letter in the mail from Dean, saying the following:
This is to let you know that I don’t have or won’t have any phone of computer service for at least one to two months, which is my choice. Please let anyone in the USAWA know that my health is getting a lot better. Wish I could see you on 9-10, but even with the way I drive, I can’t be at two spots at the same time 200 miles apart. Hope to see you soon,
Thanks
Dean
I know my Old Time Strongman championship, and the Buffalo, MO Highland Games often were a conflict for Dean, so he committed to compete in each on alternating years. I wished this had been my year. This message concerned me, but as Dean has always been a character, and his claim that his health was getting better put me at ease. Well, as it turns out my concerns were founded. We are now without our dear friend, Dean.
Dean’s obituary was a simple one:
With heavy hearts, we announce the death of Warren Dean Ross in Tulsa, Oklahoma, who passed away on March 9, 2023 at the age of 80. Family and friends are welcome to leave their condolences on this memorial page and share them with the family.
He was loved and cherished by many people including : his parents, Lee Clayton Ross and Ellen Lorene Ross
Many people indeed. I know just a little of Dean’s personal life, but I know he touched a generation or two of Highland Games and All-Round athletes. Dean did not want an elaborate obituary nor a funeral. According to his good friend Michael Lambert, he was cremated and his remains mixed with his dog Princess who he loved so much.
Dean Ross pulling a Hand and Thigh
I initially met Dean through the Highland Games, believe it or not. While he was a champion at the games, I was merely a journeyman. I always thought of him as rather bionic, as at that time, he always wore two rather significant knee braces. It wasn’t until he started competing in the USAWA that I got to know him significantly better.
Dean was the king of the mother-in-law joke, the ex-wife joke, and one liners. He always kept listeners entertained, or listening anyhow. He always enjoyed meeting new people so he could try out his classic jokes on them. Dean was one to rarely miss a meet. If he was not there, you worried. He thought nothing of traveling hundreds of miles to get to your meet, then leave quickly after, because he had hundreds more miles to complete to get to the next meet.
Dean Ross had the top Reeves Deadlift of the day, with this 275 pound lift.
Dean has been inducted into the hall of fame in no less than three organization. He was an inductee in the Rocky Mountain Scottish Athletics and the Scottish Master Athletics International in the Highland Games. He was a 2019 inductee into the USAWA Hall of Fame. Here is a link to his HOF Biography: Dean Ross-HOF Biography
Dean competed in the Highland Games for over 23 years, where he was Masters World Champion twice, both is 2003 and 2008. He competed in All-Round for around 14 years. Dean was top 10 overall in the Nation on 7 occasions, and top 10 in the World once. Dean won the Presidential Cup back in 2015, and was second with his teammate Laverne Myers at the team championship on seven different occasions. I do not believe that there was a championship event in the USAWA that Dean did not compete in at least a time or two. He was truly committed.
Dean was chosen as lifter of the month on two separate occasions, in August of 2015 and July of 2018. He was chosen by his USAWA peers as runner up for Athlete of the year in in 2015. That is an award that typically goes to a younger lifter, but Dean achieved that accolade at over 70. He was also chosen as newcomer of the year in 2011.
The next two National awards that Dean won, twice each, speaks as to who Dean was as a person. Dean was awarded first place in the Sportsmanship award in 2016 and again in 2017. Those who knew Dean like many of us did could attest to his consummate sportsmanship. Dean always laid it on the line. He always gave it his best. He often would not come out on the very top of the heap, but you never saw a change in his demeanor. He was always pleasant to be around. Always quick with a joke, a compliment, or a pointer. Dean was cheerful in all weathers, and was a beloved member of our USAWA.
Dean won the Courage Award in 2013 and 2022. We all know Dean loved to tell stories. If you sat down to listen long enough, you would hear harrowing tales of accidents and injuries Dean sustained. It was a miracle the guy was still with us to tell the stories he told, and I marveled at that. The true testament to Dean’s courage, though, came much later. It came over the past few years when many of us were truly worried about Dean. At nationals in 2021 in Abilene, Kansas, when we were finally able to get back together as a group and in person after the pandemic, it was clear that Dean was not quite himself. He struggled to maintain balance while on the platform. We pulled extra duty in spotting him for fear that he would fall and get hurt. But Dean made the drive to get there, fought through the dizziness to lift the weight, then turned around and drove home. He continued to make those drives, lay it all on the line, and never give up, even though his health was failing him. That was Dean, and that is courage.
Dean’s last meet in the USAWA was the Heavy Lift Championship at my house last year. Dean’s last record was a neck lift of 100 pounds at that meet. I guess I just missed Dean over the summer at Bill Clark’s Birthday Bash, as he had left before I got there. We both just came to catch up, but Dean made the trip all the way from Tulsa to do so. As Dean would say, the only time he was on the road is when he was crossing it.
I am not sure we will ever see another like old Dean. He never was in any of this for any glory. He never held an office, never really made waves about anything, never even became an official. But he would drive cross country and back, often in a day or two, just to get to our USAWA meets. I know Dean was a competitor and loved to handle the heavy weights. But even more, I think Dean was a man of the people. He loved the camaraderie of the sport. The passing of Dean is going to leave a void in our organization that just may never be filled. It is for the memory of guys like Dean that it is important to keep the spirit of the USAWA moving forward so that it is around for younger generations of guys who like to move the iron, tell a story, or maybe just share an insulting joke about their ex-wife. We are going to miss you, Dean.
