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On Labor Day, Ross' family and friends gathered at the family church in Granada Hills CA for a celebration of Ross' life.
The celebration began at 1pm at the Knollwood United Methodist Churck in Granada Hills. It was standing-room-only with well more then 200 in attendance.
Here's the program from the church service:
The "Special Music" was a recording of the original Four Freshmen singing "It's a Blue World". The sound system was perfect and many in the church sang along. And then the great singer Sue Raney stepped up and sang "With A Song In My Heart"; simply beautiful.
The four remembrance speakers were David Bentley, long a major force in the Four Freshmen Society. Dave was followed by Admiral Paul Arthur (ret). Then Bruce Belland, who was one of "The Four Preps" (a contemporary quartet with the early FF), told great anecdotes of his decades-long friendship with Ross. The final speaker was Ross' son Gary who told wonderful stories and shared the love of his family with us all.
The second piece of "Special Music" was the traditional Four Freshmen concert closer "And so, It's Over" written by Ross and Ken Albers. So appropriate...
When Gary Barbour spoke, he underscored the creed from the pen of Edgar Guest (above) on page four of the program. He said Ross loved that poem and tried to live his life that way; he did. We all should.
We all then crossed the street to the Knollwood Country Club for a wonderful reception. Ross would have loved it!
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