Alice Ann Brown Ross, 91, died peacefully in her home Wednesday, April 16, 2025. She was a published author of several books, including the beloved Miss Julia series.
She was born January 28, 1934 in Austell, Georgia to Roy Parker Brown and Annie Lola Brown. As a young teenager, she was often the caregiver to her two siblings, Roy, Jr. and Patsy. She overcame the challenges of her childhood and when she graduated from high school, she enrolled in Nursing School at Armstrong College in Statesboro, Georgia. Upon graduation, she began her nursing career at South Carolina Baptist Hospital in Columbia. She worked in the OR Department and loved the challenge of her work. While working at the hospital, she met her future husband, John Marion Ross, who was completing his residency there. Soon after they were married on December 24, 1953, they moved to Charleston, South Carolina.
In 1963, the young family, with their two small children, moved to Hendersonville where Dr. Ross began his career in a private practice of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Their third child was born soon after. She became involved in the community as a member of the Junior Welfare Club and their church, First Presbyterian.
In the late seventies, she decided to pursue an idea that had been growing in her for quite some time. She wanted to write a novel. Her first published book was The Murder Cure soon followed by The Murder Stroke. These two novels were about a nurse in a hospital who teams up with a detective to solve a murder. These two paperbacks were published in 1978 and 1981. In 1987, her first hardback, The Pilgrimage, was published. This book followed the adventures of two young sisters as they made their way along the Oregon Trail in the mid-1800s.
In between the publication of these books, she decided to return to school and so in 1980, she enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. In 1984, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Literature and graduated Magna cum Laude. She continued her education at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and earned a Master of Arts degree in 1986 and then a Doctor of Philosophy in 1992, both in Medieval Studies. She then began a career as a Visiting Professor and Adjunct Professor of Literature at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. She loved teaching and she loved her students. During this time, the idea of Miss Julia began to form and the first book in the series was written and published in 1999, Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind. It went through six printings its first year. She went on to write 22 bestselling books in the series. The last Miss Julia book was published in 2020. She so enjoyed going on her book tours and meeting all the people who came out to hear her speak and to get a book signed. Since she would not fly on an airplane, she found herself driving to the different cities all up and down the East Coast.
She was a much loved mother, author, and wife. She was preceded in death by both her daughter, Marian Martin and her husband, Dr. J. Marion Ross. She is survived by her two children, son John Ross and wife Jennifer and daughter, Claudia Colhoun and husband Chuck, both of Hendersonville; a son-in-law, Michael Martin of Charlotte; six grandchildren, John Martin, Charles Colhoun, Jack Ross, Jake Ross, Ramsey Ross, all of Hendersonville, and Alice Colhoun and her husband, Kevin Stam, both of Amsterdam, and two great grandchildren, Iris Stam and Lucas Stam, both of Amsterdam. The family would like to express their sincere gratitude for the wonderful care provided by Dr. James Caserio and his nurses and staff and to thank her loving caregivers, Crissie, Jeana, and Andrea.
A memorial service will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. James Episcopal Church, 766 North Main Street, Hendersonville, NC 28792.
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