A beloved member of the Special Olympics Yukon community is being remembered this week.

Caron Ross died peacefully in her sleep on Oct.11. She was 46.

Ross began with Special Olympics Yukon (SOY) in her teens.

She was a fixture of the organization. Current SOY executive director Serge Michaud remembered meeting her in a bowling alley in the fall of 1999, his first season on the job.

She had an “infectious smile and a zest for life,” he said.

Ross had participated in many of SOY’s offered sports, including bowling, rhythmic gymnastics, swimming, soccer, athletics and bocce.

In 2004, along with Michael Sumner, Mallory Pigage and her husband, Nick Ross, she won Yukon’s first Special Olympics bocce medal at the summer games in B.C. – a silver.

Michaud recalls the exciting game, in which they were for a time, one point away from the gold medal.

It was unique for SOY to have a married couple on the team

“It was just fascinating to see them support each other,” said Michaud. Ross and Nick were supportive of each other on and off the field.

They were married in the mid 2000s.

“I remember the wedding like it was yesterday,” said Michaud. “She looked fantastic in that wedding dress and she was just so happy to be a bride.”

They were a pillar of the Yukon Association for Community Living and could be seen on the dance floor at Friday socials.

“Caron loved to dance,” said Michaud.

She was a little younger than Nick, he said, and would be “on the floor shaking it,” while Nick relaxed in a chair. “There was no such thing as a dance without Caron.”

Ross always appreciated a good joke and a good prank.

“She loved, loved, loved to laugh,” said Michaud. “She just loved happy moments.”

Ross grew up in Faro and had an excellent memory.

She would always greet you with a hug, especially if she hadn’t seen you for awhile.

A funeral service will be held at the Whitehorse United Church at 2 p.m. on Saturday. A reception will follow in the basement.