The Virginia Dalrymple Family

Ross, Ian, Colin and Bonnie Dalrymple

 

Ross and Bonnie married 24 years ago, July 30, 1977 in a mountain town outside of Pittsburgh, the city where they both lived.  It was a lovely summer day and the whole Doug Dalrymple family, Heather, who was approaching three, Dana and Helen, Esther and Dan, and the whole Krantz family minus Dale, were there. 

At the time, Ross worked for Jewell Tea Company where he started as a door to door driver in the grocery business. He had graduated from University of Buffalo with an MBA in 1972 during a fairly strong recession. Ross also received a credential to teach business in high school or community college as insurance.  He said that in the Jewell job no one even cared about his educational background, but he learned a great deal about selling and motivation. This is where he gained his speaking skills. 

From Pittsburgh he moved to Tampa, Florida, before they married to begin a box-food retail business for Jewel that did not do very well, but he said that he learned from the experience. They married and Bonnie and Heather moved to Tampa for less than a year. From there they moved to Allentown, Pennsylvania where Ross again worked in the retail grocery business. Bonnie started nursing school, then Ross took a job in New Jersey and commuted until Bonnie finished. They then moved to Cherry Hill, N.J. but soon Ross started in the tile business and commuted again. He was a successful tile salesman and really liked making the contacts. 

Ian and Colin were born in New Jersey in 1986 and 1988.  When Colin was about a year old they moved to Richmond to a new planned community in Chesterfield County outside of Richmond named Woodlake in the neighborhood of Lansgate. Heather went to High School in Chesterfield County at the same school that Ian now attends. Colin attends the middle school close by.

Ross was the last baby born to Esther and Dan Dalrymple in 1946. Esther was 40 years old and Dan was 42. (See story on how he got his name.) He joined a brother, Dana, 14, a brother, Doug, 12, a sister, Anne 4 ½, and a brother, Roger 2 ½ .  They all lived on Windermere Road in Lockport, New York. While Esther was in the hospital (she had a Cesarean and stayed about 2 weeks) Dan made the final arrangements for a partnership to buy the fruit farm on Lake Ontario. He thought Esther and children would live in the big Victorian home near the lake even though she had told him she would never live on a farm again. (She grew up on a farm near Horseheads, NY as did Dan.) She would not and did not move her family there. They stayed in Lockport and went to school there. Ross remembers that when he was in early elementary school he heard Anne saying, “What’s wrong with Ross. He doesn’t get good grades in school like the rest of us.” That prompted him to work very hard to show everyone that he too could do well in school and he continued working all the way through. He said he really had to study and work very hard to do well, but it was well worth it.

When Ross was 12 the family moved to Delmar, N.Y. outside of Albany, N.Y. since Dan had taken the job of Assistant Commissioner of Agriculture with Nelson Rockefeller. Ross played tennis and was captain of the tennis team his junior year of high school. However, he thought his older brother, Roger, had the sport’s talent since he lettered in cross-country, track, and wrestling. The family remembers that Ross was suspended right before graduation for a drinking incident and almost wasn’t allowed to graduate with his class. Esther was extremely upset and covered it up as much as she could.  

He graduated in 1965, had a motorcycle that summer that Jill rode on with him, barefoot and bareheaded, when she was three. Ross then went to Cornell where he was distinguished in ROTC, an active member of Alpha Zeta fraternity where he was steward, and graduated from the College of Agriculture in 1969 as a commissioned officer in the army. Jill remembers after he returned from Vietnam, Ross telling of an emotional demonstration at Cornell regarding Vietnam where he was in his ROTC uniform and he looked across the crowd and saw his cousin, Marya, demonstrating against the war.   

He served in the Army from 1969 – 1975 with the first two years being active duty. He served a year in Vietnam in the Quartermaster Corps and was Property Disposal Officer for used equipment brought back from the jungle at Long Binh, the army supply base near Saigon. Jill, Craig, and Lynn have “booney” hats with their names on them and small, lined khaki-colored boxes (we brought two that could be salvaged to Ross in June) that Ross brought them from Vietnam.

Ross talked about how significant Vietnam was in his life. His minister even talked about Ross comparing the sunrise in Richmond when Reggie drove Ross to a final medical procedure just 11 days before he died with the sunrises he experienced in Vietnam. Ross saw the good in everything. He was an optimist who made the most of what he was dealt in every way.  He believed that his strong values came from his Mother, Esther. Honesty and hard work were vital as were loyalty to family.

Ross had a smile that lit up the room. He loved to have fun. He wanted others to join him in having fun. Bonnie and he went on about 8 cruises, some with the family, some as a couple. He was at almost all family events. He cheered others on. He was a dedicated and respected employee of Daltile Corporation and his local church.  He was a terrific, truly loved Dalrymple who will live on with each of us

Ross’ family is very busy:

Colin (right) is a junior in high school. His favorite subjects are German and history. He plans to study international relations or political science in college. He is very active in his church as a member of the Youth Committee and has gone on numerous mission trips. He is currently on the Board of Directors of the Jeremiah Project. JP is a mission project for middle school youth.

Ian (left) is a sophomore at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia. He is a business major. A member of Pi Kappa Phi, Ian enjoys the activities of the fraternity as well as all the new friends he has made.

Bonnie has been taking a variety of courses at the Lifelong Learning Institute. She continues to bowl weekly and is learning to knit. She has a busy social life with her many single friends. Traveling is her favorite activity.

They have two cats, Baxter and Tilly who are brother and sister.

Heather and her boyfriend, Chris, live in Virginia as well and just welcomed the newest addition to the family, Logan, on June 10, 2006. Visit Logan's blog at: www.logansland.blogspot.com