Vivian Belle Chapman Ross

Vivian Belle Chapman Ross, 96, died peacefully at home on the Chapman Family Farm in the South Mountains of Burke County, North Carolina, May 25, 2023. A private family graveside Celebration of Life Service was held June 1, 2023, at Pleasant Hill Cemetery in the Enola Community. Mrs. Ross was proceeded in death by her husband of 61 years, Owen, her parents Charles Garfield Chapman, and Vertie Amplice Prewitt, and nine of her ten siblings. She is survived by her brother William Donald Chapman, and three children: Vivian Elizabeth Schneggenburger, and spouse Gary, of Morganton, NC; Dr. James Owen Ross, and spouse Dr. Tony Staley of Skowhegan, Maine; and Rita Ann Miller, and spouse Stephen, of Murrells Inlet, SC. Mrs. Ross is also survived by her six granddaughters: Crystal Williams Smith of Morganton, NC, Tonya Byrd Williams of Granite Falls, NC, Cheryl Byrd Brackett (Chad) of Morganton, NC, Aimee Williams Marler (Jim) of Morganton, NC, The Reverend Doctor Juliana Ross Rotmeyer (Jeffery) of Hong Kong, and Jessica Miller Daugherty (Michael) of Awendaw, SC; twelve great grandchildren; and four great great grandchildren.

Joining the company in 1947, in October 1956, Mrs. Ross was transferred by the Shadowline Corporation to the central coast California town of San Luis Obispo, where she and other members of the company created a west coast facility. In addition to her career with Shadowline, Mrs. Ross also spent a year with the Olga Corporation, Van Nuys, California. Following her retirement from Shadowline at age 65, Mrs. Ross worked under contract for the corporation for one year.

Beginning soon after her retirement, Mrs. Ross and her husband Owen travelled extensively via trips with Christian Tours: at Christmastime New York City to see The Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall; New Orleans for Mardi Gras; Branson, Missouri; Cape Britain, Nova Scotia; Chicago; the Grand Ole Opera, Nashville, TN; and several trips to the USA’s west coast. In December, 1996, Mrs. Ross accompanied her son, and daughter Elizabeth for an eleven-day trip to Rome Italy, with a day trip by train to Florence. Prior to her husband’s death, Mrs. Ross and Owen spent three weeks each year: winter, late spring, and autumn with their son and his spouse at Sunset Beach, NC.

After her husband’s death in 2008, Mrs. Ross moved to Maine to live with her son and his family, spending time at the Chapman Family Farm in winter, late spring, and autumn. And, she continued her love of travel visiting friends in California, and seeing sites that Owen had had no interest in visiting: Yellowstone. In February 2013, Mrs. Ross traveled to Hong Kong to visit her granddaughter Juliana and her family, where she celebrated her 86th birthday in a British Style restaurant. In April that year, she accompanied her son on a nine-day trip to Paris, France, with a day trip to London by train via the Chunnel, which included a visit to St. Paul’s Cathedral, where Margaret Thatcher’s funeral was held the next day. In February 2014, Mrs. Ross returned to Hong Kong via a stop in Japan. In summer that year, she spent a month in the south of France with her son and his spouse, making daily day trips around the area which included Geneva, Switzerland, Lyon, the French Riviera, and lunch at Bornedino, Italy via a drive through the longest tunnel under the French and Italian Alps.

Except for the worst year of the COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020, after celebrating her 93rd birthday at the Chapman Family Farm, Mrs. Ross did not travel, again, until she returned to the farm to celebrate her 94th birthday in 2021. And, as she had done prior to the pandemic, until her death, Mrs. Ross returned to visiting the family farm in winter, late spring, and autumn, and spending the season as Mainers call summer doing some of her favorite activities like attending lectures the Beatrix Farrand Society.

Sossoman Funeral Home and Crematory Center is assisting the family with the arrangements.