Julia ROSS Obituary

Julia Ruth Ross (nee West), 29, of Santa Ana, died unexpectedly on Friday, March 15, 2013 from Septic Shock despite the valiant, concerted effort by the ICU team at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach, CA. When Julia met her husband Eric, she described herself this way: "Honestly, I'm a super geek about economics. I love it so much that I've spent the last six or seven years of my life working with or studying it... actually, ok - here is how bad I am: Economics is awesome because it is all about the study of choices - people have infinite wants and desires, with limited resources, so folks have to figure out how to choose what to do with our resources. You can apply it to everything in life!" Born on a rainy April 27, 1983 in Petaluma, California, Julia attended Petaluma Parent Pre-school, Wilson Elementary School, Petaluma Junior High and graduated in 2001 from Petaluma High. A voracious reader in elementary school, she would consume up to 20 books a week, her parents said. She was one of the first girls on the boy's Little League baseball team. She also raised ducks in 4-H and was a Brownie Girl Scout. She played youth soccer and was on the Petaluma high school freshman soccer team. While in high school, Julia also worked for the Youth Conservation Corps at Point Reyes National Sea Shore clearing brush and maintaining trails. Julia also said of herself to Eric, "I WAS kinda wild. I was a total punk rocker when I was a teenager - even though I was keeping grades at school, I don't think I have ever really traveled the beaten path, I was always forward looking." "She was our quirky, playful, brilliant, determined and beautiful daughter," said her parents, Joe and Dru West. Julia received an AA in Business from Santa Rosa Junior College in 2004. She earned a BA in Economics with a minor in Applied Mathematics from Humboldt State University in 2007. She co-founded an Economic Forum for students that has been carried forward by numerous students since Julia graduated, said Beth Wilson, Chair of the Economics department. As Vice president of the Business and Economics Club, she was active in organizing events and was awarded the Excellence in Community Service Award given by the college of Professional Studies. Julia remained active with Humboldt State University, becoming an ambassador for recruitment even while she worked as an economist in Southern California. She received a full scholarship to pursue a PhD at the University of California, Irvine where she worked as a Teaching Assistant. Julia decided to leave the PhD program with a Masters of Economics in 2009 because she wanted to apply her knowledge to the real world. She was working as a Senior Consultant at Urban Science in Southern California. On top of the world and joyfully happy, Julia recently married the love of her life, Eric Ross, on February 8, 2013. "There was never any awkwardness between us and it was as if we had always known each other. We were looking forward to buying a house with a yard, getting a dog to accompany our four cats, starting a family, traveling and building our life together," Eric said. "She was an incredibly inspiring, intelligent, beautiful, kind, compassionate and thoughtful woman, we were inseparable after our second date. She completely changed my life, the same as she did to countless others that she came across during her life. I can't believe that I am the one that got to marry her." "Julia always knew how to get me into or out of trouble." Laura West said of her older sister. A wonderful, kind hearted human being, loving bride, loyal friend, amazing daughter/granddaughter, Julia made life brighter for everyone she touched, says sister Nancy Martin. She had the rare ability to truly "live in the moment" said her brother Marc Fish. "More than an awesome sister, SJ (for sister J) was my closest friend." Julia pursued both her personal life and career with passion. Her emails always contained the motto from Les Brown "You don't have to be great to get started, but you have to get started to be great", and "Hey Stan, win or lose...you only have two options - South Park." "Never afraid to talk to anyone," Eric Ross said, Julia acquired a wide range of friends whom she kept in close contact with even as they moved to begin their lives after grad school. Nancy Martin said, "In addition to having a brilliant analytical mind, Julia was down to earth and loved to read books, cook, hike, fish, go camping, play board games/cards, barbecue, watch movies, go to concerts, and share a cup (or two) of coffee or glass of beer. She enjoyed just "hanging out," being with children, and was a hand's-on aunt to her nieces and nephew." "She was the coolest aunt ever," said eight-year-old nephew Aidan Fish. Julia was also an animal lover and always had at least two cats. She loved nature and especially loved the redwoods and the fog when she lived in Arcata. She had traveled to Germany, Czechoslovakia, Vienna, Scotland, Ecuador, Mexico, and was looking forward to traveling with her husband. Julia is survived by her husband Eric Ross (Santa Ana, CA), parents Joe and Dru West (Petaluma, CA), brother Marc Fish (Inverness, CA), sister Nancy Martin and husband Dan (Petaluma, CA), sister Laura West (Petaluma, CA), grandmother Betty Stull (Murrieta, CA), In-laws Barry and Laurie Ross (North Hills, CA), sister-in-law Aimee Ross (Huntington Beach, CA), brother-in-law Chris Ross (Huntington Beach, CA), numerous aunts and uncles, four nieces and one nephew and her cats Emma, Calvin, Manny and Gremlin. Memorial services for family and friends will be held in both Santa Ana, CA and in Petaluma, CA. in April. Julia's family asks that in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be made in Julia's name to the Department of Economics at Humboldt State University, Gift Processing Center, 1 Harpst Street, Arcata, CA 95521-8299 with checks made payable to HSU Advancement Foundation.