Barrhaven community leader Ken Ross passes away

Barrhaven today is mourning the loss of a great community leader. Ken Ross, best known as the owner-operator of Ross’s Independent Grocers in Barrhaven, as well for his philanthropy in the community, passed away on the weekend.

Ken was a board member of the Heart and Stroke Foundation, a member of the Lions Club, the chair of the Barrhaven BIA, a supporter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, and one of the early supporters behind the South Nepean Autism Centre. He also served as President of the Barrhaven Food Cupboard.

His business was the only owner-operated grocery store in Barrhaven. When I started the Barrhaven Blog, Ken invited me to his office to talk about the blog, his store and the community. He was a very kind and welcoming person, down to earth and above all, passionate about his community. He spoke of how important it was to support local farmers by buying their produce when the fall harvest was upon us. He also spoke of how important every single customer was to him. When I brought up the topic of his community work, he was very humble. You could tell that giving back to the community was a core value for Ken.

In an interview after being inducted into the Order of St. George, Ken said it best in his own words: “At the end of the day, basically we’re very simple people. We sell groceries. We have a grocery store. And yet that vehicle has given us the opportunity to meet tens of thousands of people and touch so many people’s lives. That’s really the nice part of it all.”

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Ross family today. The community mourns with you.