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Richard "Poochie" Ross

Date of Death: July 3, 2022

Date of Birth: June 7, 1929

Biography:

Chebeague Island, Maine -- Richard "Poochie" W. Ross, 93 years old, passed away after a brief illness, with family by his side, at Mercy Hospital, under hospice care. He was a life-long Chebeague resident who fished the waters of Casco Bay for nearly 70 years. Poochie attended the Chebeague Island Schools as well as Butler Elementary in Portland for a few years where his famly lived during WWII. He began herring fishing as a young man, alongside his father and two brothers. He always considered that profession to be his true passion. When that industry ended in the early 1970's and canneries closed up and down the Maine coast, he made lobstering his main career, supplementing with clamming, scalloping and musseling when necessary. He loved being on the water and preferred to fish alone as opposed to hiring a sternman. He had a sixth sense for finding prime hiding locations of whatever he was harvesting. For many years, his only "helper" was a very lucky and devoted seagull who was so tame, he could feed him by hand and became a friend, both on land and at sea. His love of all creatures made him a natural friend to many: raccoons, squirrels, turkeys, rabbits and most anything with fur or feathers. As a teen, Poochie loved to play baseball and was noted as a good pitcher and an amazing fast runner and base stealer. His speed around the bases earned him a noted win when, later in life, he was pitted against another runner of legend from Long Island...A good natured rivalry that his family heralded for decades! In 1955, Poochie married his soulmate, Priscilla "Pip" Stilphen and their union was the gold standard that many tried to achieve. They had a true love affair that lasted more than 65 years and that love endured, even after her death in 2016. Together they raised two daughters, Beverly and Barbara. As a family, they enjoyed outside activities such as badminton, croquet and fishing and loved to spend time at the Ross family hunting camp in Waite, Maine. Poochie raised rabbits and pheasants during his time as a member of the Chebeague Gun Club which presented a conflict of interest between his enjoyment of hunting and his love for all creatures. He will be forever remembered as a kind and gentle man who humbly gave and shared anything he felt he could to enrich someone else's life or just to bring a smile and his love of God was his true north. He was the ultimate provider for his family and he extended that care to other's who needed a little extra help. He was loved and will be greatly missed by all who knew him.  He was predeceased by his parents, James and Etta Ross, his brothers Emery and James "Brother" Ross, his sister Alice Bowman, and the love of his life, Priscilla. He is survived by his daughters and their spouses: Beverly and Pat Murray and Barbara and Joseph Ballard; grandchildren Patrick (Lana) Murray, April (Kyle) Scholten, Jonathan Caldwell, Kelley MacLennan, Kara Williams,  Great Grandchildren; Jake, Ben, Jack and Lucy as well as many nieces and nephews...all who were very dear to him.

An island funeral will be announced at a future date with a private family internment planned.