Henrietta Ross

1885-1981

Henrietta or Yetta as everyone called her was one of the first generation of Tucker-Ross women honored here. She was the matriarch of her family and well known for her strength and independence. She married Edward Charles Ross in 1909 and had four children – Edward, Helen, Pauline, and Paul. She moved from her home in Brighton, Illinois to set up the family home in Alton, Illinois.

 Yetta was self-educated and picked up the love of learning and education from her husband. Together they insisted that their children be educated and saw all of them go to college. Family stories tell of the commitment to education for the extended family as well. Many cousins came into their Alton home from the farms during the depression so they too could attend high school and college. The farms and the town garden provided the food for the "boarding house" and Yetta somehow managed to make ends meet with the homegrown food and the small salary of her husband. It was part of the legacy of ecological, frugal living that carries through the family today.

Yetta was a religious woman who raised her children in the church and practiced good works. She taught Sunday School and didn't stop educating children with that. Grandchildren could always count on her to read Bible stories and tell the favorite ones. She had a no nonsense way of getting to the point and making expectations clear.

Yetta never seemed to let hardship interfere with life. Although she lost her sight with age, she continued to garden (by crawling on the ground and feeling her way), to make quilts for each grandchild (again by feeling the fabric and using needles prethreaded by a grandson), to learn by listening to books on records and even to try to paint a room when left alone one day!

Her strength, spirit, and tenacity have served as a strong model for all those who have known her.

Submitted 4/19/95

Paver Inscription:

"Lelia Tucker
Henrietta Ross
Roberta T. Ross
Paula R. Berg
Susan T. Ross"

Brick also located at: H17