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Jack Ross honored at Winter Garden museum

West Orange Times – February 25, 2010

More than 100 friends, family and well-wishers from throughout Central Florida gathered at the Winter Garden Heritage Museum last week to celebrate the life of Jack Ross, a patriarch of West Orange County.

Ross, who was born in Oakland in 1928 and lives in Windermere, is a lifelong citrus grower and one of many descendants of local pioneer families who have remained devoted to the area through the decades.

Several of Jack Ross’ family members attended the celebration last week, including his daughter, Brenda Smith, and grandchildren Will, Alli and Sara Smith.

A fifth-generation resident of West Orange, Ross is a descendant of Judge James Gamble Speer, a founder of Oakland and by historic accounts the person who suggested the name of Orlando for the tiny community that would grow to become the largest city in Central Florida.

According to Oakland – The Early Years, Ross is the great-great-grandson of Speer and descended through the Sadler and Tilden families of West Orange.

Ross, who still has a few citrus trees near Winter Garden, has devoted much of his time in recent years to volunteer work with the Oakland Presbyterian Church and civic groups and as a philanthropist supporting many local causes including the Heritage Foundation and its museums. Ross and his wife, Pat Pease Ross, have two grown children and seven grandchildren, all still living in West Orange County.

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