My pen name is “Jake Ross”, which was inspired by my grandfather, John Ross who we all called “Grandad”. He was a consummate jokester and storyteller, traits that I inherited.
My grandparents, John Ross and Bertha, had three children, two boys and a girl with my father being the youngest of the three. My grandparents bought a sheep and goat ranch in Southern Texas and my grandfather set his brand as “J Cross” (a J with a crossbar.) I originally thought this was an indication that he was a Christian. However, my genealogical, researching sister found that the real reason he chose that brand was “J Cross” is a homonym of Jake Ross, and “Jake” was his nickname for “John” when he was a child. “Ross” was my grandfather’s middle name. I liked that a lot and I took on the “J Cross” symbol as the logo for my pen name “Jake Ross” in honor of my grandfather, John Ross.
An example of his being a jokester and a storyteller is his story of how my grandmother got her nickname of “Big Mamma”, an odd name since she was a petite woman. My grandfather related that when their children grew up, got married, and began having children, he asked his wife, “Bertha, when the grandkids come over, what do you want them to call you?” She replied, “I don’t care. Anything but ‘Big Mamma’.”
Thereafter, when the grandkids did come to visit and they asked my grandfather a question, he would always reply, “I don’t know. Why don’t you go ask your Big Mamma.”
When I was growing up, that’s all we ever knew her by.