Our beloved Friend, Ross Allan Worley, died in Durango on June 21, 2021. Ross was born on October 5, 1947, in Omaha, Nebraska, to Charles and Elizabeth Worley. Ross was the oldest of six children; three sisters (Susan, Dawn and Faith) and two brothers (Henry and Tim). His father had been a conscientious objector during WWII and spent time in a C.O. camp. The family lived in Nebraska, Oregon, and Ohio before settling in Cedaredge, Colorado. His parents instilled the values of living simply and peacefully in all their children. This influence may have led Ross to join the Durango Worship Group in the mid-seventies. He then became a member of Durango Friends Meeting in 1990.
Ross had been a student at Fort Lewis College in Durango and was later hired as the audiovisual technician there. While employed there he was able to take one class at a time and graduated with a degree in Humanities (English, Spanish, and audiovisual courses) in 1979. He attended the University of Connecticut and graduated with a Masters of Education degree with a concentration in Instructional Technology. He returned to FLC and built audiovisual services with equipment and materials collections for use by faculty in their classes. He helped move FLC classrooms into the digital era by providing computer and internet connections and data projectors in classrooms. Ross retired from Fort Lewis in 2003 with 32 years of service.
Ross married Irene Ruiz de Esparza in 1977. In 1985 they adopted a brother and sister, Noah Ross Worley and Tammy Regina Worley at the ages of 10 and 9. The marriage ended in divorce in 1993 with Ross becoming sole parent of the then teenagers.
During his years in the Meeting, Ross served in almost every capacity. During his time as clerk of Peace and Social Concerns he led Durango Friends to spend many hours after worship assembling food boxes for undocumented families in the Durango area. His years as First Day School teacher were spent in lessons on Quaker history, Biblical History and Jesus’ teachings. Even the adults were enlightened when the young people would share what they had learned that morning after Meeting for Worship. Too often they put us to shame as they challenged us to answer questions related to what Ross had taught them during First Day School.
Perhaps Ross’s greatest contribution to Durango Friends was the many hours he spent with other Friends tasked with finding a location for the meeting house and then working with the architect and builder until completion in the fall of 1996.
Ross was a voracious reader and delighted in sharing his books. He read a wide variety of authors and subjects but had more books on Quaker history and biographies than anything else. Many of us in Durango Friends Meeting were exposed to much of Quaker history in our conversations with him. Ross also studied the Spanish language and made several trips to Mexico where he visited with friends.
At his Memorial in Durango, several of his co-workers spoke of how he had enriched their lives and helped them daily. His son Noah gave a moving and heartfelt testimony to him as a father ending with “Ross saved my life”.
Ross was loved and respected by all of us in the Durango Meeting and is greatly missed. He will be remembered for his warmth, kindness. faithfulness and wonderful sense of humor.