Elizabeth Ross

Ross, Elizabeth "Beth" Basler

Madison: Elizabeth "Beth" Basler Ross, who introduced scores of Madison youngsters to the piano, died Dec. 28, 2015. She was 88.

Beth came to Madison from her native Oregon in 1950 and in the mid 1960s began giving piano lessons in her home to beginning students. It was a devotion she carried on until her 80th birthday. It wasn't uncommon for Beth to be out walking her golden retriever, Cheddar, or her black lab, Huckleberry, when a former music student approached her to thank her for the gift of music.

She was born July 14, 1927, in Portland, Ore., to Agnes Elliott Basler and Vernon Igo Basler, and was the great-granddaughter of emigrants who traveled the California Trail in a covered wagon in the 1840s.

Beth grew up on Larklane farm outside of Prineville, Ore., near the confluence of the Ochoco and Crooked Rivers. She lived an idyllic childhood, swimming in the irrigation ditch, caring for the bummer lambs and laying hens, and riding her horse, Billy, across the open ranch lands and into the juniper hills with her best friend, Jean Graffenberger Wilson. It was through Jean that Beth met Jean's cousin John E. Ross, Beth's future husband. John and his brother Edgar and Beth and Jean would spend days together on horseback during the Ross boys' summer visits to their grandparents' ranch in Prineville. Two would start into the Ochoco Forest at dawn, and two would follow 30 minutes later, hoping to catch the front runners by supper time.

Beth's family moved to Portland, Ore. before her senior year in high school, and subsequently, she attended the University of Oregon in Eugene (she pledged Delta Delta Delta) . Although they rooted for rival football teams (John went to Oregon State in Corvallis), Beth and John began dating during their college years. Beth graduated with an English degree in 1949 and accepted a public school teaching position in Coos Bay, Ore. After a visit with John, who was a graduate student in Madison, Beth returned to Oregon with a diamond ring and they were married in Portland on Dec. 10, 1950.

John joined the U.W. faculty and the couple raised five children in Madison. Life was filled with reading, music, swimming in the summer and ice-skating in the winter, Badger sporting events, summer car trips to Oregon, and day trips to the Wisconsin countryside. There was always a garden. One of Beth's lifelong passions was cooking and serving family dinners, featuring lots of homegrown vegetables as well as lively conversation. Beth encouraged her children to be intellectually curious, and was known to jump up from the dinner table to grab a reference book to help satisfy that curiosity.

In addition to a circle of friends associated with the U.W. Department of Agricultural Journalism, the relationships Beth enjoyed in the PEO Sisterhood were a big part of her life. She was also a member of the League of Women Voters of Dane County for more than 50 years. Beth derived great satisfaction from her work as a LWV volunteer at naturalization ceremonies for newly minted U.S. citizens.

In recent years, Beth and John traveled the world observing and photographing remarkable natural landscapes and their wild inhabitants, from cheetahs in Kenya to tortoises in the Galapagos to polar bears in Manitoba and beyond. They frequently presented slide shows and lectures on the ecosystems they visited.
One of Beth's lasting accomplishments was co-authoring, with her husband, the well-received book, "Prairie Time, the Leopold Reserve Revisited," published by University of Wisconsin Press in 1998. The couple shared a deep connection with and desire to better understand the natural world, and brought that to life in the book. Over three decades, the authors spent countless happy days with their friends Charles and Nina Bradley at the Aldo Leopold Reserve in south-central Wisconsin. The book includes Beth's descriptions of key plant and animal "Citizens of the Prairie and Savannah" and many of her nature photos. One of her lines from the book perfectly sums up her approach to life: "Questions follow delight."

Beth is survived by her husband, John E. Ross, and five adult children and their partners: Thomas S. Ross (Judy), Anne Elizabeth Ross (Carolyn "Carrie" Nelson), Laurie Basler Loescher (Amy Reynolds), Katherine "Katie" M. Ross (Tom Jones), Sara "Sally" Angus Ross (Scott Higgins). And seven grandchildren: Austin Ross; Kyle, Garren, and Thea Loescher; and John "Jack," Elizabeth "Bess," and Samuel "Sam" Higgins.
At Beth's request, there will be no formal memorial service. Friends wishing to participate in an informal gathering being planned to celebrate Beth's life are invited to contact one of Beth's children. Suggested beneficiaries of memorial contributions include Aldo Leopold Nature Center, League of Women Voters of Wisconsin or U.S., and Friends of Henry Vilas Zoo. Please share your memories of Beth.

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