Helen Ross

    Helen (Henny-Penny) Pasqualina Mele Milovich Ross passed away peacefully on May 27, 2018 from complications due to pneumonia.  
    Helen was born on January 26, 1930, to Italian immigrant parents, Salvatore and Rosina Mele in Sunnyside, Utah.  She was the eldest daughter of eight siblings and with that came the expectation and responsibility of helping her parents raise her younger siblings.  She and her older brother Gordo did that together and to also help supplement their siblings college educations, which is one example of her generosity and selflessness.  She loved to tell the story of the day after her high school graduation when Grandma Mele sent her “out the door” to go on job interviews so she could help support the family!  She   quickly landed a secretarial job at Horse Canyon Mines where she worked from 1948-1956.  She had many fond memories of carpooling from Price with Mr. Allred and her friend Athena.  
    On June 26, 1954, she married Steve Milovich and they lived in a cute apartment which Steve built in Grandma and Grandpa Mele’s basement.  In 1962, they moved down the street into the Milovich family home which Steve had built with his brothers.  Together, Helen and Steve worked hard side by side to raise and send their four children to college.  She was married to Steve for 25 years before he passed away in September 1979.   On November 5, 1983, she married Don Ross in Maui, Hawaii.  They were married until his death in September 2007.  She had many good years with Don living at Jeremy Ranch and in St. George.  
    Helen worked for the Fish and Game office in Price as a regional secretary from 1961-1986 when she retired.  In 1969, Governor Rampton presented her with the state of Utah “meritorious service award,” and this presentation was written up in the Salt Lake Tribune.  She was the first female to be presented with this award.  Her then boss, Bud Phelps, praised her as being a loyal and dedicated employee for many years.  Helen had commented that her favorite part of her job was the busy season of issuing deer permits to nonresidents — she would pack her typewriter home along with all of the blank permits and would enlist her kids in assembly line fashion to help her complete hundreds of permits!
    In her younger years, Mom loved to cook and bake and would delight in serving family and friends her delicious lasagne, manicotti, Italian peppers and meatballs along with her homemade bread.  During the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, she hosted huge family dinners where many of her siblings, nieces, nephews, great aunts and uncles would all pile in the Milovich home to enjoy Mom’s cooking and wonderful pastries and Christmas cookies.  Those “old days” were her favorite memories because she loved to entertain and cook for her big extended Italian family whom she loved dearly.
    It’s difficult to summarize one’s life in a few paragraphs, but for those who knew & loved Helen, they would probably all agree that she was a very energetic, stubborn, tough, hardworking, honest, fiercely loyal, loving, selfless and generous person who very much loved her Italian roots, traditions and her big extended family.  Her favorite thing to do was sit at the kitchen table with family and eat, drink and talk.  She’d always ask “what’s the good word!?”. She adored, loved and was loyal to her children, in-laws, grandchildren, nieces, nephews and siblings and would do anything for anyone of them.  The last family reunion we had in October 2016, she loved visiting and drinking wine with everyone and would raise her glass and say her favorite toast: “Buona fortuna!”
    Helen is survived by her sons: Steve (Tammy), Sam (Jody), daughters: Rose and Danette (Jeff), grand children: Jessica, Stevie, Morgan and Daniel, brothers: Lou and Tony Mele, sister: Rose Odette & many nieces and nephews.  Preceded in death by her husbands, Steve Milovich, Don Ross, parents Salvatore and Rosina Mele, siblings,Sam,  Dominic (Gordo), Antoinette (Dolly), John Pete, nephew Kenny Odette, niece Patti Ann Mele, her special Jeremy Ranch granddaughter Tiffany.  
    Graveside service, Thursday, May 31, 2018, 12:00 noon.  Family will receive friends Thursday morning from 11:00-11:45 a.m. at Mitchell Funeral Home.  Family and friends are invited to a luncheon at The Tuscan (old Elk’s Club) after the graveside service. Arrangements entrusted to Mitchell Funeral Home of Price where friends are always welcome daily and may share memories online at www.mitchellfuneralhome.net.
    Raise your glass of wine and toast Helen:  “Buona fortuna! Ti amo mamma.”