Ross Armbrecht, age 77, passed away peacefully on January 15, 2019 in the company of his wife and the wonderful care team at Rockland Place, the Assisted Living facility which had been his comfortable “home-away-from-home” for the last eight months of his life. We are so grateful to them for the personalized care they always provided.
Ross was born in 1942 and lived most of his early years in Richmond, VA. Ever a scholar, he graduated from high school as valedictorian of his class, then graduated from Duke University in 1963, with Distinction in Chemistry. He then attended M.I.T. with a N.I.H. fellowship, receiving a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry in 1968.
Following graduate school, he joined DuPont as a research chemist in Elastomers and later served in various technical and management positions in his 25 years there. While working for DuPont, he was one of the founders of the Science Alliance of Delaware and served on its board for several years.
After retirement from DuPont, Ross was still enthusiastic about science, and so joined Witco Corporation in Connecticut, holding technical and management positions there until their merger with another company. Following that, he served as President of the Industrial Research Institute, now called Innovation Research Interchange (IRI), in Washington, D.C. In 2005 he returned to Wilmington to begin his final “official” job, as Executive Director of the Delaware Foundation for Science and Mathematics Education (DFSME). He truly loved serving in this capacity for 10 years, encouraging cooperation between businesses, educators, and community leaders to improve math and science education for all students in DE. While in this position, he also served on the Governor’s STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) Council.
In addition to his work over the years, Ross had many interests that he pursued, chiefly among them his music. He was director and conductor of a 16-piece dance band called the Rhythm Doctors for many years, and it was his greatest source of pleasure. He was also a private pilot, and even commuted to work by way of his plane when he still lived in CT and flew to Washington for his job. He loved long-distance bicycling, including Bike to the Bay and an 85-mile trek with his daughter. He loved tennis as well, and played often with his wife and others.
Ross is survived by his wife of 54 years, Lois, his children Kimberley and Alison (and her husband, Mark), and his brother Dave (and his wife Lue). He will be missed so much by all of us! He loved life, had a wonderful sense of humor, was always so positive in his outlook, and had great energy for all the things that were important to him and his family!
In Ross’ memory, donations may be made to: DFSME (DE Foundation for Science and Math Education), 100 W. 10th Street, Suite 612, Wilmington, DE 19801. Or, donations may be made online at dfsme.org
A Celebration of Life will be held in his memory on March 30th at the DuPont Country Club (Crystal Ballroom), Rockland Rd., Wilmington, DE, at 12 noon.
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