Ross Arthur Deardorff, age 93, of Indianapolis, Indiana, jetted up to heaven to be with his Savior, Jesus Christ, on May 30, 2026. Ross was born on March 7, 1933, to Frederick and Ruth (Hughes) Deardorff . Ross grew up in Richmond, Indiana, graduating from Richmond High School in 1951. He loved attending Purdue University and earning his Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy in 1955. He later went on to receive his MBA from Indiana University in 1964.

After being in R.O.T.C. while at Purdue then graduating, Ross joined the United States Air Force. This was the beginning of his lifelong love of planes and flying. He served for two years, stationed at Perrin Air Force Base in Denison, Texas. Later in life he also became a helicopter instructor. He often shared his love for flying by taking his friends and family for a nice flight.

When he wasn’t flying, he would stop everything when a plane flew overhead just to enjoy the sight.

On November 18, 1956, Ross married his true love, Carol Jean Kaeuper. Together, they built a life grounded in love, faith, and companionship. Ross absolutely loved to make his wife laugh! Through every season and difficulty of life, they stood side-by-side, supporting, encouraging, and caring for one another until Carol‘s passing in 2020.

Ross loved adventure and challenges. One of his life’s mottos was “The impossible only takes a little longer.” He reminded himself of this often as he and Carol started their own pharmaceutical manufacturing business in 1966. Century Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is still in operation today with second and third generation family members working there. Running a business together brought them happiness as well as quite a few headaches. Ross and Carol worked every aspect of the business to help get safe products, at a reasonable price, to their customers. For many years they picked up the bottles themselves, printed the labels with a printing press, manufactured all items, did the bookkeeping, and trained their employees. Over the years more than 400 different products were made and Century provided jobs for hundreds of people. Ross and Carol were very proud that their wound cleanser, Dakins, has helped thousands of people with hard-to-heal wounds. They felt strongly that this was how they would fulfill their calling to help others. Ross also used his talents and often worked on many inventions throughout his life, always trying to make things work a little bit better.

For decades, Ross was an active member of Christ the Savior Lutheran Church. He loved to sing in the choir with Carol, plow the snow off the parking lot, mow the church lawn, and also enjoyed eating at many potluck dinners!

Ross lived his life showing compassion for others. This often looked like giving blood regularly for 40 years, teaching refugees how to drive to their jobs with their limited knowledge of English, or videoing friends’ and relatives’ weddings where, often on playback, his soft chuckle could be heard throughout the video.

Ross was known for always having a big smile on his face and he loved to pull pranks and tell jokes. He often had a twinkle in his eye and a look of mischievousness on his face. This earned him the nickname “Rascal Ross”. One of his goals in life was to make at least one person laugh every day, which he easily surpassed.

Ross loved pie, cake, cookies, and most of all ice cream. He loved camping throughout the United States and even made his own pop-up camper in the 1960s. Boating, motorcycle rides, and digging with his backhoe brought him much happiness, in addition to being a member for many years of the Indiana Private Investigators Association.

The times he enjoyed most though, were the times spent with his children, grandkids, and great-grandkids. He loved to teach them new things, attend their school and sporting events, teach them jokes, and how to make funny faces. He always had time to roughhouse with them. Ross was an avid fan of shopping at Menards, buying many duplicates of tools so he could fill his garage and workshop. A stop at Steak ‘n Shake for a milkshake on his way home from Menards rounded out the errand.

Ross did his best to live his life to honor Christ. He was a man of generosity, integrity, compassion, and had an unmatched work ethic. He was dedicated to his Lord, family, employees, customers, and always offered his talents to those in need. Ross was deeply loved by his family and he will be missed, but his positive attributes will always be in us as we continue to remember him in our hearts.

Ross is survived by his sister, Lois (John) Foreman, his children, Diana Lynn ( Dr. Hua) Meng, Stephen Robert (Kathy) Deardorff, and Lisa Kay (Mike) Buck.

Seven grandchildren, Christopher (Angela) Manfred, David (Jamie) Manfred, Rachel (Adam) Mosson, Ryan (Camryn) Manfred, Nathan (Elise) Deardorff, Clio Deardorff, and Isaac Meng

11 Great grandchildren; Carson, Savannah and Lydia Manfred, Wyatt and Silas Manfred, Grace, Ethan and Dylan Mosson, Eve, Iris and Forest Deardorff.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Frederick and Ruth, his brothers; Frederick, Richard, and Frank Deardorff, and his son, David Ross Deardorff, who passed in infancy.

A visitation will take place from 10am-11:30am on Saturday, June 6th, 2026, at Christ the Savior Lutheran Church - 10500 126th St, Fishers, IN 46038, with a funeral service at 11:30am. A graveside service with military honors will take place at Oaklawn Memorial Gardens Cemetery - 9700 Allisonville Rd., Indianapolis, IN 46250.

To watch the funeral service live, please click here

In lieu of flowers, Donations to honor him can be given either to Basic Utility Vehicles or to Gleaners Food Bank.

From the family: A special thank you to Ana Funez for her kindness, cheerful spirit and good food she provided daily to Ross.
We are also deeply grateful to Lolita Bradford who gave many years of loving care, compassion, and dedication to both Carol and Ross which enriched their lives as they battled dementia.