Ross was born in Neuvo Leon, Mexico in 1910 to Teofila and Inocencio Tomas Maldonado. He crossed the border at Laredo into the US in the late 1920s. Ross was working as a restaurant waiter in San Antonio, Texas in 1930. In the 1930s he moved to Detroit, Michigan, changed his name to Ross, and worked as a cook in a restaurant earning $100/month. In 1937 he married Ann Croskey. The marriage lasted only a few months. A divorce was granted in February of 1938. He married once again to "Lorraine" in 1938. After 1940 the family moved to River Rouge briefly, then in December of 1943 to the government 'projects' in Ecorse, down-river from Detroit. He worked at a steel factory in Ecorse. The family didn't own an automobile and he walked to and from work daily. Later on they were able to build their own home in Ecorse. After years of laboring in the steel mills and enduring the cold weather of the north, the family moved to San Antonio in June of 1955 to begin a business of their own. They lived on the south side of San Antonio for a while, then a rental home in Olmos Park, before moving to the rural outskirts north of the city where they operated a drive-in cafe on the same property. The business and home have long been demolished for a new exit loop. Later he bought and operated a small hamburger stand in the Balconies Heights area of the city as well. In July of 1956 Ross died at the young age of 46 of a heart attack on the way to Santa Rosa Hospital. It was just a short year after moving to San Antonio and enjoying the good life and weather of South Texas, his dream of running his own business, and being closer to his family in Mexico. Lorraine and teenage sons moved to Trimble, Tennessee in October to be near her family in Mason Hall.

His father died between the years of 1913 and 1920.
His mother died after 1955-1956

The burial location of his parents, 3 of his brothers is unknown.

Brother of Illdefonso 'Poncho' Maldonado.