H. J. Ross was born June 2, 1922, in Tampa, and died October 30, 2015.
He was an American architectural engineer.
Ross earned a degree in civil engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and studied aeronautical engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, when he was 19 years of age.
Ross helped to develop the Eastern Airlines buildings at Miami International Airport, the former Burdines stores in South Florida and Bal Harbour Shops.
He was married to Audrey Ross.
Ross co-founded the engineering firm Riley and Ross with a fellow Navy buddy in 1947.
In the 1960s, Ross designed the test facility at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama for the Pratt/Whitney engines that powered the Apollo space mission.
He was also invovle in the engineering of the landmark Miami Beach hotels Eden Roc, Fontainebleau, Shelborne and The Deauville, where the Beatles taped a breakthrough appearance for the Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964.
Ross remained in Miami after serving in the U.S. Navy in World War II.
He was stationed at the Opa-locka Air Station, when the war ended.
Ross bought a company and renamed it H.J. Ross and Associates, and grew it into a powerhouse.
Until retirement in 1978, he sold the company and it operates today as T.Y. Lin International/H.J. Ross.
Ross passed away at age 93 in October 2015.