Curly, 82, died May 14, 2012, in Boise, Idaho. He attended the College of Idaho on a football scholarship and graduated from there in 1952, after which he joined the Albertsons grocery store chain, for which he worked his entire career. He jumped from McCall in 1951 and 1955; Curly regarded the 1951 season as "a summer he'd never forget," according to his best friend and fellow jumper, LaVon "Scotty" Scott (MYC-48). Curly and his wife established the Colleen and Curly Ross Football Endowment Scholarship Fund at Boise State University, and were major benefactors to the academic and athletic departments at the College of Idaho.