April 20, 1948 –November 29, 2021
Viola Ross, 73, of Flandreau passed away November 29, 2021 at Dougherty Hospice House in Sioux Falls. In fulfillment of Viola’s final wishes, a private family service was held on Thursday, December 2, 2021. Committal was at the First Presbyterian Cemetery at Flandreau. Skroch’s Funeral Chapel of Flandreau was in charge of arrangements.
A celebration of Viola’s life, with close family, friends and colleagues, will take place at a later date.
Viola was born on April 20, 1948 in Flandreau to Leroy and Elaine (Traversie) Miles. She grew up in Flandreau and graduated in 1966 from Flandreau High School. In 1968, she graduated from Haskell Indian School in Lawrence, KS. She worked in Minneapolis, MN for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and later, the US Attorney’s Office.
She married James “Jim Bill” Ross on June 2, 1973. They moved to Bismarck, ND where Elaine (“Scooby”) was born.
Viola worked as a secretary for the director of United Tribes Employment Training Center (UTEC). In 1974, they moved their family to Aberdeen where she worked as the secretary for the Contracting Officer at the BIA Area Office.
The family welcomed Sonny in 1975. In 1977, they moved their family to Flandreau where she worked as the Flandreau Indian School secretary.
The family welcomed David in 1978. In 1980, the family moved back to Aberdeen, where they lived for the next 13 years. In 1993, Viola moved to Flandreau and worked at the EROS Data Center as a Property and Supply Technician/Clerk. She retired from EROS in 2006. She spent her remaining years enjoying life with her family in Flandreau.
Viola is survived by James “Jim Bill” Ross; her children Elaine “Scooby” (Michael “Trin”) Stephens, Sonny (Christy) Ross, David Ross, and her Hunka son, Wesley Keck aka Wesley Ross; four grandchildren Wyatt, Nathan, Willow and Marissa, all of Flandreau; Hunka niece and nephew, Alyssa (Justin) Voegele and Dylan (Emily) Strand.
She is preceded in death by her parents: Elaine and Walter Jones and Leroy Miles; her brother Robert Miles; her sisters Ramona Miles and Mindy Miles; her nephew Eugene Tso; and her Hunka sister Jane Strand.