Newfound to celebrate life of Marie Ross on Sat.

BRISTOL — The Newfound Regional school community will celebrate the life of Superintendent Marie Ross at the high school on Saturday, Jan. 19, from noon to 3 p.m. A brief memorial presentation will be made at 1 p.m.

Ross died at an undisclosed location on Saturday, with her family at her side. She had been receiving medical care since suddenly falling seriously ill while on a trip to Maryland in late September.

News of her passing was delivered by the school district's business administrator Daniel Rossner, who has remained in contact with her family. "May her memory be a blessing for all of us," stated Rossner in a letter.

Ross had served as superintendent of schools since the fall of 2005. Prior to winning that position she had been the assistant superintendent for Laconia schools for three years.

After she initially took ill, the school district announced that Ross would be away from work for a month or two but after that prognosis proved optimistic the school board hired retired Inter-Lakes Superintendent Phil McCormack to fill in on a an interim basis. Last month the district announced that Ross had stated her desire to have her contract terminated at the end of the current school year and the board began the search for a permanent replacement.

Ross raised four children and was a stay-at-home-mom before before beginning her teaching career in the late 1980s. She earned her doctorate in educational leadership in 2009 from Argosy University in Sarasota, FL.

People planning to attend Saturday's event at the school are being encouraged to bring student art, cards or other "Marie inspired" materials to the SAU office (Rossner) or the high school (Monica Jackson) in advance. People have also been asked to bring some type of food dish or finger foods to share.

Ross's family had indicated that memorial donations may be made in her name to the American Brain Tumor Association at www.abta.org., or to a memorial scholarship being established at Newfound Regional High School (150 Newfound Road, Bristol, NH 03222).