William "Ross" Fosbender Jr.

William "Ross" Fosbender, Jr., 75, of Ottawa, Illinois, passed away on March 23, 2015, at Ottawa Pavilion after extended illness. The family will have a memorial service at a later date. Ottawa Funeral Home has been entrusted with his cremation. Ross was born February 22, 1940, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to William Fosbender, Sr., and Linnea (Johnson) Fosbender. Ross was the first of five children and grew up in Lake Forest, Illinois. He was born with a serious heart condition called coarctation of the aorta and, in 1950, at the young age of 10, was one of the first recipients of surgery to correct the issue. He not only survived the surgery, but thrived. He was active in the Boy Scouts and interested in cars from a young age. He graduated from Lake Forest High School in 1958 and then Rockford College with a major in Business Administration in 1962. He married his beloved wife, Cheryl Ann Simpson, in 1968. Ross and Cheryl shared a life together for 47 years, and raised three successful daughters in Palatine, Illinois, before moving to Ottawa, Illinois, in the late 1990's. He worked in publications and marketing management, retiring from B & B Electronics in Ottawa. He was a Master Mason of the A. O. Fay Masonic Lodge, as were his father and grandfather before him. Ross had a passion for sports car racing. He spent much of his free time as a driver and instructor in the North Suburban Sports Car Club, and held various leadership positions in the organization. Ross was an aficionado of vintage cars, especially Alfa Romeos, having owned 17 Alfa Romeos over the years, including inadvertently owning the same Alfa twice. Ross is survived by his wife Cheryl Ann of Ottawa; daughters Laura Fosbender of Berkeley, California; Ann (Andy) Janiszewski of Omaha, Nebraska; Lynn (Nathan Pabich) Fosbender of Chicago, Illinois; granddaughter Emma Janiszewski. Also, his siblings John (Dolly) Fosbender of Louden, New Hampshire; Mark (Marie) Fosbender of Palm Coast, Florida; Lisa (Herbert) Young of Leawood, Kansas; Vicki (Richard) Celestine of Coral Springs, Florida, and many nieces and nephews.