Rutherford Jack "Rudd" Ross Jr.,

Rutherford Jack "Rudd" Ross Jr., 84, died Sunday, August 21, 2011, of esophageal cancer in Rock Hill, S.C. He was born Jan. 19, 1927, in Fort Smith, Ark. He was an automobile dealer, a banker, a stock broker, a world traveler and a lifelong gardener, a restless daredevil whose career, beginning in an era before large national banks and ATMs, defied staid banking traditions. He attended Fort Smith public schools and graduated from Shattuck School (now Shattuck-St. Mary's School) in Faribault, Minn. He studied at Louisiana State University and earned his bachelor's degree at the University of Arkansas, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Scabbard & Blade. He was a graduate of the School of Banking of the South and of the American Bankers Association Graduate Commercial Lending School. He was a Certified Commercial Lender. He began his career as general manager of M and R Motor Company and Ross Motor Company, both owned by his father, a pioneer aviator in Fort Smith; he left the car business to become a banker in 1960. He was vice president of Liberty National Bank in Oklahoma City, Okla., and executive vice president of Webster State Bank of Webster, Texas, owned by the late Walter Hall. In 1971, he became president of Colonial Bank in New Orleans. A year later, the family returned to Houston, where he was senior vice president of Houston National Bank, president of Northwest National Bank, senior vice president of Capital National Bank, and president of Lake Jackson State Bank of Lake Jackson. For a time, he was a stockbroker with A.G. Edwards. He served in the 5th Air Force in World War II and was a charter member of the 184th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron and a captain in the USAF Retired Reserve. In 1945, while on three-day leave from the Air Force, he and a buddy rented a Porterfield airplane for $20 and flew from St. Louis to Fort Smith, buzzing a church steeple and the goal posts of the high school football field before flying under the Garrison Avenue bridge over the Arkansas River. Years later, his old friend recalled that his fingernails still turned white just thinking about the escapade. He was an Eagle Scout, a master gardener, a beekeeper and a ham radio operator; for a time, he was a gardening columnist for the Brazosport Facts. He served on the board of the South Texas Girl Scout Council, was active in several Rotary Clubs and Chambers of Commerce, and was a vestryman in his church. He hired and promoted women in the banking business.bIn the civil rights era, he supported lending to minorities. He retired three times, from three banks, to hunt and fish, and quit several other times, once to travel in Europe with his wife of 58 years, Nancy Jo Bedford Ross, who survives him. He was preceded in death by his son, Rutherford Jack Ross III; his parents, Rutherford Jack Ross and Ann Martin Ross; his wife's parents, Charles Cecil Bedford and Dorothy Quinn Bedford; his sister, Mary Jule Crouse; and his wife's sister, Sally Lee Bedford. He is survived by his wife and four daughters, Cynthia Bradford and her husband, Charles, of York, S.C., Dorothy Martin (Marty) Ross and her husband, Daniel Hopkins, of Kansas City, Mo., Nancy Gordon (Bird) Ross and her husband, Tom Loeser, of Madison, Wis., and Sara Rutherford (Sally) Ross of Fort Worth, Texas; as well as by eight grandchildren; his sisters, Sue Cross and Randall Viguet of Fort Smith, and Ann Pestel of Bella Vista, Ark.; and numerous nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m., Wednesday, August 24, at Chandler Place, 745 Dilworth Lane, Rock Hill, with a reception immediately following. A memorial service will also be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, August 27, at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church in Fort Smith, with a reception immediately following in the parish hall. His ashes will be scattered at Oak Cemetery in Fort Smith, in the Ross-Martin family plot. Memorials may be made to the charity of your choice; to Episcopal Church of Our Saviour, 144 Caldwell St., Rock Hill, S.C. 29730; or St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church, 2701 Old Greenwood Road, Fort Smith, Ark. 72903. Arrangements by Greene Funeral Home, Rock Hill, S.C.