More detail on this person: Ross McCoy was born on August 8th, 1949, in Vallejo, California, to Willard and Lyndall McCoy. Growing up in a military family, they moved often and eventually settled in San Diego, CA, where Ross spent the majority of his childhood. He was raised with four siblings, his older brother Jack, and his younger brothers and sister, Don, Lynne, and David. There he also met his longest life-long friend Martin, a friend that was at Ross's side days before his passing. Ross graduated from Castle Park high school in Chula Vista, CA in 1967, and was soon after drafted to fight in the Vietnam War. Having a love of aviation, he decided to apply for Army flight training and was trained to pilot the venerable AH-1 Cobra with flight class 70-27 and 70-29. He served at Vinh Long Army Airfield with Comanche Troop, 7th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Division from 1970-1971. He was the recipient of 26 Air Medals and the Distinguished Flying Cross. Upon returning from Vietnam in 1971, he remained on active duty for a short period of time before he transferred to the US Army reserves and flew the UH-1 Huey in its Air Ambulance capacity. He also earned his degree in Accounting from San Jose State University and was licensed as a Certified Public Accountant in 1979. He began to build his practice while continuing to fly Hueys for the Army around Northern California. Settling in the town of Auburn in the Sierra Nevada foothills, it was there that he and his wife Bobbi raised their four boys, Chris, Jim, Scott, and Mike. Ross instilled a great sense of patriotism, love of aviation, and steadfast work ethic in his sons, as is evident in their future endeavors. Ross retired from the Army as a Chief Warrant Officer (CW4) in the early nineties, but continued to run his private practice as a CPA until his final years. He remained active with the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association and his local VFW post. It was at the Fair Oaks VFW in 2013 that Ross met his current wife Tina. Tina brought copious amounts of love, care, and companionship to Ross's life in its final decade. Ross passed peacefully on the night of November 22nd, 2021 at Mercy San Juan Medical Center in Carmichael, CA. In the final days of his life, Ross spent many hours with Tina, Martin, David, and his children. When reflecting on his life, he told one of his sons, "I've met a lot of wonderful people and done some amazing things." It was a life well lived. Ross was preceded in death by his parents, brothers Jack and Don, and sister Lynne. He is survived by his brother David, his wife Tina, his ex-wife Kathy, his ex-wife Bobbi, and their four sons, and his grandchildren Berlinn, Scarlett, Autumn, and Connor. A celebration of Ross's life will be held from 12:30-3:00 p.m. on 5 January, 2022, at the Fair Oaks VFW Post #6158. The celebration of life will be a potluck-style gathering. Ross will be interred at the Sacramento Valley Veterans' Cemetery in Dixon, CA the following day, 6 January, at 2:30 p.m. A funeral procession will depart from the Fair Oaks VFW at 1:00 p.m. Fair Oaks VFW Post 6158 8990 Kruithof Way Fair Oaks, CA 95628 (916) 966-1663 Sacramento Valley National Cemetery 5810 Midway Rd Dixon, CA 95620
Burial information: Sacramento Valley National Cemetery, Dixon, CA
This information was last updated 11/30/2021
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Date posted on this site: 03/10/2024
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