G. Hal Ross

G. Hal Ross entered into eternal peace on Friday, March 21, 2025. The funeral service will be at 10:00 am, Friday, March 28, 2025, at Plymouth Congregational Church. Hal was born in Kansas City, MO on April 29, 1925. He went through the local schools and graduated from Ottawa High School in 1943. Since it was war time he worked as a civilian for the Army Ordinance Department at the Sunflower Ordinance Works in Desoto, Kansas, operated by the Hercules Powder Company. Hal worked in a government laboratory which obtained rocket powder samples from the production line and tested them for compliance with army specifications. At war's end in 1945 he continued his education at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas, graduating 1949 with a BS Degree in Flour Milling Administration. He grew up in the milling business with his father, who managed the Ross Milling Company, Ottawa, Kansas. Flour milling was a passion he had since youth. Realizing he might not always be a profession in flour milling he sought further education in Law at Kansas University, Lawrence, Kansas. On graduation in 1952 he received an LLB and later his Juris doctorate. When he and his family moved to Wichita he began his milling career working at the Wichita Terminal Elevator Inc., later becoming Vice President and Manager. He enjoyed his time on the Wichita Board of Trade and the grain storage business. He was a member of the Kansas Wheat Improvement Association. and the Wichita Traffic Club. In 1959 with the purchase of the Kansas Milling Company, he moved the office of the Terminal Elevator from the Board of Trade Building to the offices of the Kansas Milling Company. At that time, as one of the managing officers, he directed the operations of the well-known malted wheat department. He also took over as wheat buyer for the mill which had a flour capacity of 20,000 cwt per day and was the largest mill in Kansas. During his time at the Kansas Mill he was Vice President and member of the Millers National Federation, a president of Southwestern Millers Group, and the Board of Trustee of the Mills Mutual insurance company. In 1974, the family sold the flour mills at Wichita, Newton, Wellington, Hutchison and the elevators at Wichita and Belle Plaine to Cargill, Inc. Hal then established law offices in the Brown Building, later in the Bank of America Center (Ruffin Building) where he continued to manage his farms, the Oxford Mill and various investments until his death. He was a loyal and committed alumna of Kansas State University throughout his career, serving as a University Foundation Trustee. In 1994 he made a gift to Kansas State University for the purpose of building a new teaching flour mill on campus. The new mill used cutting edge technology from Switzerland and the US with a flour capacity of 200 cwt per day. On completion in 1998 Kansas State University graciously named the new mill after Hal. Hal married Mary Lou Brant Stevens on August 26, 1995, and they honeymooned at the Broadmoor. Hal and Mary Lou were active in the arts community of Kansas. Hal’s hobbies included stamps, coins, and postcard collecting. Later in life he became a member of the Wichita Postcard Club, of which he was one of the founders and a former President. In 1976, he was one of three friends who published a book, Pearless Prince of the Plains, postcard view of early Wichita. Hal is survived by Mary Lou’s children, Brandi Stevens (Robert Cadman) and Tara Stevens; grandchildren, Alex Pelz and Austin Puetz; great-grandchildren, Gracie Taylor and Josie Pelz. Hal is preceded in death by his beloved wife, Mary Lou. Memorials have been established with: Plymouth Congregational Church, 202 N. Clifton Ave., Wichita, KS 67208; Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum, 204 S. Main St., Wichita, KS 67202; Kansas State University, College of Agriculture, 114 Waters Hall, 1603 Old Claflin Pl., Manhattan, KS 66506-4004; University of Kansas School of Law, 1535 W. 15th St., Lawrence, KS 66045. Services in care of Downing & Lahey East Mortuary.