July 28, 1953 – June 24, 2025

Thomas “Tom” Slayton Ross of Steamboat Springs, CO, who told the stories of the Yampa Valley in the Steamboat Pilot and Today for a generation, died June 24, 2025. He was 71.

Tom was a loving husband and father and an avid outdoorsman. He was a photographer, artist, and long-time staff member at the Steamboat Pilot and Today. As a reporter and photographer at the paper, he shared the news in Steamboat. As editor, he led the reporting staff for a handful of years and became known for his editorial columns. In his later years at the paper, he continued to write columns that allowed him to tell the stories of the Yampa Valley and its residents in a way that captured the essence of mountain life. Tom was the recipient of numerous awards from the Colorado Press Association for his reporting, columns, and feature stories. Tom was also known for his photography, especially his nature photography, which showcased the beauty of the Colorado mountains and the desert Southwest.

Tom was born July 28, 1953 in Madison, Wisconsin to John Elton Ross and Elizabeth (Basler) Ross. His father was a prominent professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and his mother was a devoted piano teacher, who introduced scores of Madison youngsters to music. Tom had a lively childhood, growing up with four younger sisters in Madison. Summers were spent playing outside with neighborhood friends and his sisters. Tom played baseball, swam competitively, and helped in the family vegetable garden. Winters were snowy, and sledding and snowball fights were common. Tom also learned to ski on the hills outside Madison. Each summer, the family would visit Oregon, where both of Tom’s parents were raised, loading everyone into a station wagon and driving cross-country to visit the family ranch in Prineville or spend time on the Oregon coast.

After graduating from James Madison Memorial High School, Tom attended the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He graduated with a BA in Political Science in 1975. While he was in college, Tom visited Aspen, CO for spring break. The trip turned out to be a pivotal moment for Tom, as it reaffirmed his love of the mountains, skiing, and the outdoors.

After college, Tom wanted to find a town where he could ski but that was also down to earth and had a sense of community. He moved to Steamboat for the winter of 1975, arriving in a red Opal Cadet, which he slept in on his first night in town. He found roommates the next day at the Pine Grove and scraped out a living while making new friends and skiing as much as possible. At the end of that winter, with job prospects for the summer looking limited, he decided to move back to Wisconsin to work toward a career as a journalist. He took a job at the Chilton Times-Journal in Chilton, Wisconsin, but his days in the midwest were numbered. Within a couple years, Tom made up his mind that he would start a new life in Steamboat.

Tom moved to Steamboat for good in 1979 and interviewed for a job at the Steamboat Pilot soon after. He showed up for his interview wearing a suit, and although Dee Richards, the editor at the time, no doubt rolled her eyes at how woefully overdressed he was, she hired him. Tom would write for the newspaper in Steamboat for another 36 years.

Tom was an avid skier and earned a reputation for being especially fast at skiing the bumps. He also developed a group of tight-knit roommates and lifelong friends, who referred to him as the Mad City Bomber, a nod to his hometown and his fearlessness on the mountain. In addition to skiing, Tom was a skilled fly fisherman and spent time fishing with his friends all over Colorado. Tom also had a love for music and could pick along on his guitar with just about any melody he liked. Although he was modest about it, he frequently impressed his friends with his natural skill.

It was through Tom’s roommates that he met Judy Gawronski in 1982. They had known each other for a while before Tom plucked up the courage to ask Judy to dance one night at the Clocktower Bar, but that courage was rewarded with lifelong love and partnership. Tom and Judy were married on June 20, 1984, after which they shared a champagne toast with close friends at the top of the gondola. They welcomed their son, Austin, to the family in 1986. Tom was a loving husband and built a strong and enduring partnership with Judy. They brought each other joy, offered each other support, and bragged to their friends about how good the other was at skiing. Tom, Judy, and Austin spent winters skiing, both alpine and cross-country, and summers hiking, camping, and fishing in the mountains. Tom was a caring father who helped cultivate a love for the outdoors in Austin and supported him in his own pursuits in life.

After his retirement, Tom and Judy continued to enjoy an active lifestyle, biking, paddling, hiking, and camping across the West. They also became world travelers visiting countries like Italy, France, Spain, and Belize. Tom enjoyed creating collage art, and pursued this pastime with passion.

Tom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease in his later years, and though forced to adapt to cognitive decline, he continued to age with dignity and maintained a full life. He continued to pursue the pastimes that brought him joy, traveling, exercising, enjoying concerts, and creating art.

Tom suffered a biking accident on June 16, 2025 and was flown to the Front Range for treatment. He passed away surrounded by family and love on June 24, 2025.

Tom was known among friends and family for his wit, sense of humor, and creativity. He was known in the community for his storytelling and the care with which he shared the stories of life in Northwest Colorado. He was known by all for his love of the outdoors and for his community.

Tom is survived by his wife, Judith “Judy” Gawronski Ross, his son and his partner, Austin Gregory Ross (Rogelio “Roy” Lugo), and his four sisters and their partners: Anne Elizabeth Ross (Carolyn “Carrie” Nelson), Laurie Basler Loescher (Amy Reynolds), Katherine “Katie” Mary Ross (Tom Jones), Sara “Sally” Angus Ross (Scott Higgins), as well as five nephews and three nieces.

A public celebration of life will be planned for late summer in Steamboat, details of which will be shared in the coming weeks. Suggested beneficiaries of memorial contributions include Friends of the Yampa and Boys and Girls Clubs of Northwest Colorado.