ce with Military Honors will be held at 2:00 p.m. at Rose Hill Cemetery in Grundy Center, Iowa. D.J. was born on a farm in Grundy County on August 23, 1925, to Joe and Marie Ross. He attended country school until entering high school. He loved to tell the story of how he walked through the farm fields to reach the school or ride his pony to get there. He graduated from Grundy Center High School and attended Iowa State University briefly before entering the U.S. Army. He was a WWII veteran and a member of the Greatest Generation. In 1946 he married his high school sweetheart, Marlys Smith, in Warrenton, Virginia. Upon completing his service in the Army, he and Marlys began farming in Iowa. His love of farming never wavered and upon his death he still owned eighty acres of the farmland that he and his father and brothers worked when he was growing up. In 1955, however, he and Marlys moved to Ames with their family, and he attended Iowa State College of Veterinary Medicine, graduating in 1961. That year he entered into a large and small animal practice in Humboldt, Iowa. In later years he worked for the U.S.D.A. D.J. is survived by his four children, five grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, and three great great-grandchildren. His children include Pam (Dick) Miller of Max, MN, Dr. Alan (Tricia Jones) Ross of Roseburg, OR, Terrence Ross of Firestone, CO, and Jon Ross of Ames, IA. Grandchildren include Mike (Debbie) Oltmann, Michelle (Marty) McKinney, David Ross, Aaron (Annie) Ross, and Melissa (Richard) Hilt. Great-grandchildren are Ryan (Emily Grandgenett) Shillinglaw, Joey (Meranda) Shillinglaw, Izayah Contreras, Natalie Hilt, and Juniper Ross. Great great-grandchildren are Kenna Jo Shillinglaw, Ari Shillinglaw, and Finley Ross Shillinglaw. D.J. is also survived by his brother Joe (Ina) Ross of Grundy Center. D.J. was preceded in death by his wife Marlys, his parents Joe and Marie Ross; brother Wayne Ross, brother and sister-in-law Homer and Delores Ross. Special thanks to the staff and health care providers at Bethany Life and Mary Greeley Medical Center for the care that you provided to our father. Online condolences may be directed to www.grandonfuneralandcremationcare.com