Carlton Goddard Ross
August 16, 1933 – July 13, 2023
Carlton Goddard Ross was born on August 16th, 1933, in Summerfield, Ohio to parents Vera and Paul. He moved to Florida in 1955 with his beautiful wife Carleda and raised two children who were his pride and joy, Terry and Tammy. With a strong Christian faith, he stayed involved in his church as an Elder at the Church of Christ for over 50 years and everyone who frequented his church will always remember his beautiful tenor voice as he led the congregation in song. His love of music came from his mother Vera who was a school principal and music teacher. He and his siblings Merlin, Donald, Sue and Kay all shared their mothers love of music and learned to play a musical instrument. For Carlton, he chose to play the piano and even performed in a band with his brothers. Possibly stronger than his love of music was his passion for football and extreme devotion to the Florida Gators. With 4 season tickets in the same covered seats for over 40 years, Carlton was one of the teams most loyal fans, and if you were lucky enough to score an invite for his extra tickets, then you knew you rated pretty high in his book.
Carlton was an extremely talented mechanic with an impressive work ethic. He also had a Master Plumber license but only because his father-in-law Carl didn’t want to take the test by himself, so Carlton agreed to go with him and take it also. And of course, he passed. But his love of cars and fixing things always brought him back to being a mechanic. He worked for Foremost Fertilizer for over 35 years then “retired” and went to work with his son Terry at his business, Ross Plumbing, for another 30 years where he got to work side by side with his grandsons and even great grandchildren. Carlton had an amazing since of humor and love of fun. He played many a card game with friends and family and all of his grandkids have fond memories of playing cards with Papaw at the beach. His annual Christmas gag gifts will be missed by his sister-in-law Judy who always returned the favor.
Carlton was a devoted husband, proud father, and unwavering family man. Preceded by his daughter Tammy, through whom you could see his influence and legacy, as she also shaped the many lives around her because of her strong faith and work ethic. Tammy was named Florida’s Teacher of the Year and Carlton beamed with pride any time you mentioned her name. Preceded also by his beloved granddaughter Rebecca, we can only imagine the beautiful reunion that is taking place in Heaven right now. Carlton’s legacy now lives on in his wife Carleda, son Terry, daughter in Law Rachel, Son in Law Forrest, sister-in-law Judy, brother-in-law Charles, nieces and nephews and all of his grandchildren and great grandchildren who refer to him lovingly as Papaw and who are all blessed to have had such an exemplary example of faith, devotion and love in Carlton Ross.
A visitation will be held on Sunday, July 16, from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM at Beyers Funeral Home located at 1123 W Main St Leesburg, FL 34748. A funeral service will be held the following day Monday, July 17, 10:00 AM at Beyers Funeral Home in Leesburg with interment to follow at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens.
