Philanthropist Eric Ross Dies

Eric Ross, one of the largest donors to the U. S. Holocaust Museum and a donor to the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, the Newark Museum, Saint Barnabas Medical Center,  the Solomon Schechter School, St. Benedict's Preparatory School, Ben Gurion University,  and Rutgers Hillel, died last week. 

Ross was a longtime member of Livingston's Temple B'nai Abraham, where the Ross Santuary sanctuary was formally dedicated about 7  years ago in his honor and in memory of his parents, who perished in the Holocaust.  

In May of this year, the 90-year-old Ross who lived in South Orange was awarded an honorary degree from Seton Hall University. At that time, he recalled his own life story. 

"The Hitler Youth were throwing knives and stones at me," said Ross, a German Jew who emigrated to New York City in 1938 at age 19 with $10 in his pocket and speaking no English. "That was the end of my schooling."

With his wife Lore, who passed away in February 2009, Ross became a renowned philanthropist, having made a name for himself in business in manufacturing plastics and vinyl products for the flooring industry and compounds for the medical industry. (He built factories in New Jersey and Florida before selling his interest in the companies he had founded in 1986.)

In 2007, Seton Hall received the Rosses' gift of $1.25 million, which, along with funding from Leon and Toby Cooperman, established the university's Cooperman-Ross Endowed Chair in Jewish-Christian Studies, currently held by Rabbi Alan Brill, Ph.D. The Rosses—who met in Frankfurt when she was 15 and he was 17 and reconnected in New York after both had fled Nazi Germany—also contributed to Seton Hall's Sister Rose Thering Endowment. In November 2009, Eric Ross made a personal gift of $10,000 to the university, earmarked for scholarships for a student trip to Israel.

Ross, had homes in the Newstead area of South Orange and West Palm Beach, Fla., and lived in the Oranges for 60 years, originally in West Orange, had a simple philosophy when it comes to giving.

"I have to like the product," said Ross, who had three children, seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. "It's really based on personalities. I like people, and I like to associate with nice people."

A memorial service will take place on Oct. 10 at 12:00 p.m. at the Ross Sanctuary at Temple B'nai Abraham. This event is open to the public.