James David Ross

James David Ross, 63, passed away on Wednesday, May 14th at St Vincent Hospital in Evansville surrounded by his wife and four sons. 

David was born on June 21, 1961, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to David Kinsey Ross and Jimmie Kay Mitchell.   In 1965 the family moved to West Baden Springs, Indiana.

David quickly developed a passion for the outdoors, dedicating himself to leadership and community projects through the Boy Scouts of America, earning the highest attainable rank of Eagle Scout by the age of sixteen, a feat achieved by just 4% of Scouts in America.

After graduating from Springs Valley high school in 1979, David’s experience in the family natural gas business led him to Houston, Texas where he worked for Houston Lighting and Power for the next three years.   

David returned home in 1982 and married Kimberly Hammond of English in 1983.  Settling in Princeton, Indiana, David worked for many years at Gibson Generating Station while raising his sons.

David was a partner in many successful businesses including Ross Rentals, Heartland Home Health, Heartland Hospice and Little Rascals Day Care. In 1992 David became the full-time Business Manager of these enterprises.  He was solely responsible for the founding of the Heartland Healthcare Foundation which continues to support worthy causes today through an endowment managed by the Gibson County Community Foundation. In 1996 David independently founded Welcome Home Health Care, and later Better Living Home Health Care, both of which he continued to operate for the remainder of his life.   

David’s true passion was the pursuit of adventure.    He enjoyed muscle cars, drag racing, world travel and aviation.  Just a few hours shy of obtaining his recreational pilot’s license, to his disappointment, his aviation training ended in 1996 with the discovery of a heart condition.

In the following years he traveled throughout the United States, Europe, Central America, the Caribbean and Southeast Asia where he discovered his passion for Scuba Diving. 

In the late 2000’s David traveled many times to the Philippines where he logged countless hours diving and earned dozens of certifications including Rescue Diver, Dive Instructor and ultimately Master Diver.

On Valentines Day 2011, during a trip to Manilla, David met Merly Granada.  The two quickly fell in love before Merly joined David in Princeton, where they were married on April 14th, 2012.

The couple was blessed when, at the age of five, David’s youngest son Kaiden joined their family. Having adopted Kaiden, Merly became a loving mother and grandmother to six grandchildren.   Cherished by David’s family, Merly was a steadfast and loyal companion and wife for the remainder of David’s life, joining him in the advancement of their businesses and extensive travel.  They particularly enjoyed camping in their RV with Kaiden, other family and their beloved dogs.  David and Merly also actively participated in the local Filipino American Association together.

A faithful Christian, David was baptized at the age of three, and more recently attended Hillside United Methodist Church, Hope Community Church, and especially enjoyed watching televised services from Social Dallas, in Dallas, Texas.  His spirituality was also developed through recovery, where he demonstrated humility, resilience, and inspired hope and change in many others.   

David was preceded in death by his father, David Kinsey Ross, his mother, Jimmie Kay Mitchell Weikert and a niece, Nicole Ross.

He is survived by his wife, Merly Ross of Princeton; 4 sons:  Joshua Ross (Dara) of English, Jordan Ross (Melissa) of Princeton, Jacob Ross (Megan) of Princeton and Kaiden Ross of Princeton; two brothers: Mark Ross (Johnna) of Hollis, New Hampshire and Phil Ross (Heather) of Orleans.  He is also survived by six grandchildren, four nephews and a great-nephew. 

A funeral service will be held 12:00 PM Friday, May 23, 2025 at Colvin Funeral Home in Princeton, IN with Pastor Steve Akins officiating.  Visitation will be held from 10:00 AM until service time on Friday. The graveside committal service will follow at 2:30 PM (CST) at Patoka Memorial Cemetery, French Lick, IN.

Memorial donations may be made to Hope Community Church, 2431 S Crabtree Dr, Princeton, IN. 47670.  Envelopes will be available at the funeral home.    

Online condolences can be given at ColvinFuneralHome.com where you can share a memory of David with the family.  Colvin Funeral Home is honored to serve the Ross family. 

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