Ross Herman Cullins grew up in Dixon, IL, home of Ronald Reagan. His mother died when he was young, and he was raised by his father and stepmother. His stepmother taught English and Spanish. His father, who challenged Ross to do his best, died when Ross was in high school.
During his high school years Ross excelled in science and, with the coaching of his stepmother, was well prepared in foreign language and English. He also was gifted as an athlete, with basketball and golf being his main sports.
He took his entrance exams at Ft. Sheridan, IL, where he met many of his future classmates. The academic, medical, and physical tests were easily passed. The big event was the poker game that took place in the barracks after the exams. Many of his classmates will remember the poker game.
When he reported on Jul 3, 1956, Ross was greeted by those who knew him from Ft. Sheridan. He quickly made many friends in Beast Barracks, The combination of being academically talented, an athlete, and relatable to everyone made Beast relatively easy for him.
Ross did not find the academics at West Point challenging. He read a lot, but little of it had to do with the classroom subjects; he preferred reading mysteries. He was always willing to help classmates that were having a difficult time and was a highly successful academic coach. As an upper classman he could learn enough talking to classmates on the way to class to make a top grade. Ross could have been a star man.
Outside the classroom Ross excelled at everything he did. He made the golf team, only to quit when the coach wanted to change his swing. He was a member of the Cadet Chapel Choir for four years and he loved going on the trips. He was a member of the Debate Council and Forum for four years and and danced in the 100th Night show. Memorable poker and bridge games occurred in the barracks. He was a resource for classmates that had difficulties. When his classmate’s father died during senior year, Ross was able to provide comfort based on his own experience in losing his father.
During First Class year, Ross had two loves: his 1960 powder blue Corvette and his first wife, Julie. His A-1 classmates knew it was serious when he started driving to Rochester, NY, on weekends (400 miles). He often arrived back just as roll call for supper was being taken. A big disappointment after graduation happened when the engine of the Vette burned, and he had to get rid of the car.
Following graduation, Ross married and went to Signal Basic, Airborne, and then to Hawaii. Ross was an outstanding lieutenant. He was selected for a special mission on one of the islands involved in our nuclear testing monitoring. Ross received a Commendation Medal for that service, one of the few lieutenants to receive an award during the three years in Hawaii.
Ross resigned after Hawaii and entered business with General Motors. He was in an executive training program when the warmer climate in California beckoned him. He returned to government service as a general engineer and then a project manager at the AF West Test Range, Vandenberg AFB, CA. In 1983, he became the General Manager of the Space & Missile Center, retiring in 1988. During these years, his marriage to Julie ended. He subsequently married Anna and then Angela, both marriages ending in divorce. He is survived by five children.
After retirement, Ross entered the academic world. He earned MMIS and Ph.D. degrees in computer science at West Coast University. He was a Lecturer and Senior Lecturer at the University of Laverne. Eventually, he was a Professor, Department Chairman, and then Associate Dean of West Coast University. He retired from West Coast University in 1997.
In the ensuing years, Ross renewed contacts with some of his many friends from his West Point days. In 2006 he planned to join our classmates on the March Back for the Class of 2010. A week prior to the March Back, Ross had surgery to clean out an artery. He insisted to the doctor that he was going to West Point, but the doctor prevailed. On Oct 19, 2007, Ross drove himself to the hospital with heart problems that claimed his life a week later.
He was a master bridge player and said he played with some of the top people who wrote books on the subject, and sometimes won. His other passion was playing golf, and his goal was to shoot a score that was his age.
In the last six months of his life he shot a 69, his age. We hope that the good Lord has golf courses where all shots are holes-in -one and a bridge club where all hands are grand slams.
His classmates looked forward to seeing Ross at their 50th Reunion. Many remembered him from their cadet days, and many more remembered him for his account of his first day as a cadet in 1956, given at a class reunion. His unique combination of insight, humor, and facts that most had forgotten was priceless.
Ross, Be Thou at Peace.
— by his Classmates