Former NTEA board member Norm Ross Jr. dies

Feb. 27, 2007
Norm Ross Jr., former vice-president of Northwest Truckstell Sales Inc. and former National Truck Edquipment Association (NTEA) board member, died Feb. 7 in Portland, Ore. He was 85

Norm Ross Jr., former vice-president of Northwest Truckstell Sales Inc. and former National Truck Edquipment Association (NTEA) board member, died Feb. 7 in Portland, Ore. He was 85.

Ross was elected to the NTEA board in January 1980, also serving on the Convention Committee.

Ross was born Oct. 20, 1921, in Washington, D.C. to parents L.N. Ross, Sr. and wife Genie. His father was a captain in the U.S. Army and stationed in Washington as the first Commander of the Guard for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Upon separation from the army in 1924, the Ross family returned to Oregon, where in 1933 L.N. Ross Sr. founded what would be Northwest Truckstell Sales, Inc., a fourth-generation family business and truck equipment distributor that would over the years include Norm Jr. and his two sons Ken and Dave and grandsons David and John.

One of Ross Jr.'s his passions was the Portland Downtown Lions Club. At the time of his death, he had achieved 58 years of perfect attendance, which equates to over 12,000 meetings. During that time, he was President of the Portland Downtown Lions, District Governor of Multiple District 36 O Lions, and Chairman of the Council of Governors, Founding Chairman of Lions Eye Bank of Oregon, Founding Chairman of Oregon Lions Sight and Hearing Foundation (OLSHF), and worked on the developmental committee for Lions Club International.

Along with his company, Northwest Truckstell, Norm was awarded the Pride of Portland Combined Award for community service. He was also an active member of the Portland Chamber of Commerce and Eastside Commercial Club.

He is survived by his son Dave, daughter-in-law Debbie, grandsons David and John and sister Dorothy Brown.

The family requests that remembrances be made to the Oregon Lions Sight and Hearing Foundation, 1410 SW Morrison, Suite 760, Portland, OR 97205.