The funeral service of Joe Ross, Jr., will be conducted Friday, July 1, 2011, at 11:00 a.m. at Zion Grove Missionary Baptist Church, 7470 River Road, Camilla.  Reverend E. L. Wilson will officiate.  Interment will follow in the church cemetery.

Pallbearers will be his grandsons and nephews.

On Monday June 27, 2011, God plucked a beautiful and delicate rose from the earth and placed it in His heavenly garden.

Bro. Joe Ross Jr. son of Mr. Joe Ross, Jr. and Mrs. Carrie Mae Smith Ross, was born on November 16, 1926, in Mitchell County Georgia. He was married to Mrs. Essie Hampton Ross who preceded him in death.

Bro. Joe Ross departed this life on Monday, June 27, 2011 at Southern Regional Medical Center in Riverdale, Georgia.

He is also survived by one loving and devoted sister, Catherine Bradley, who is left to carry on with grace and dignity as the last sibling; a host of nieces, nephews and other relatives and friends.

Our Father Kept A Garden

Our Father kept a garden.
A garden of the heart;
He planted all the good things,
That gave our lives their start.

He turned us to the sunshine,
And encouraged us to dream:
Fostering and nurturing
The seeds of self-esteem.

And when the winds and rain came,
He protected us enough;
But not too much because he knew
We would stand up strong and tough.

His constant good example,
Always taught us right from wrong;
Markers for our pathway that will last
a lifetime long.

We are our Fathers garden,
We are his legacy.
Thank you Dad we love you.