Lucianna Gladney Ross passed away at her home at the age of 96 on January 24, 2012. Lucianna was born March 21, 1915 to the late Frank Y. and Katherine Graves Gladney. Lucianna was the third of four siblings, brother Graves Gladney,and sister Katherine Gladney Wells. Her brother John Franklin died as a child.
She attended Mary Institute graduating in 1932 and continued her education at Smith College, Northampton, MA. where she spent her junior year at the Sorbonne in Paris, France from which she graduated cum laude in 1936. After graduating from college, Lucianna worked as a staff member on the society page of St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
She would later marry Walter Ross. She raised three children, Helen Griffith Ross of McLean, VA, Lucianna Ross Natkiel of Hill, NH, and John Franklin Ross of St. Louis; she has also been blessed with three grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Since 1918, Lucianna's family owned a country place near Kimmswick, Missouri called Sunnyside, which she held close to her heart. Mrs. Ross noticed that the small town's properties were in a rapid state of decay and in need of rebuilding. In the 1970's she began the painstaking work of purchasing and restoring many of the town's dilapidated buildings.
Mrs. Ross was a long-time supporter of the Missouri Botanical Garden where the Frank Y. and Katherine Graves Gladney Rose Garden is named for her family. In 1979 she was the first woman to be appointed to the board of trustees of the Missouri Botanical Garden, and in 2002 she won the Garden's most prestigious prize, the Henry Shaw Medal. She also was a representative of the City of St. Louis as a member of the St. Louis Art Museum's board of commissioners and was named a Globe-Democrat woman of achievement in 1977.
Lucianna Gladney Ross' philanthropy and revitalization work have touched countless people and organizations and she will be remembered for her tireless efforts and dedication.
In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to the Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63110, or to Smith College, Northampton, MA 01063.