Widow of Sgt. George Ross Will Receive Help

Margie Ross, widow of , and their teenage daughter, Mollie, will finally get the help they've been looking for.

Ross was awarded $311,000 through the Public Safety Officers Benefits (PSOB) program. It's a federal program that provides death and education benefits to survivors of fallen public safety officials. Sgt. Michael Martin of the called Ross on Thursday to inform her of the approval.

Margie Ross following her husband’s death. Sgt. Ross, a 33-year veteran of the Maplewood Police Department, sustained a heart attack after attending the funeral of St. Louis police officer David Haynes and died nine days later. Ross attended the event as a representative of Maplewood police.

For the past year, Margie Ross has been dealing with financial uncertainty. PSOB will help.

And because Ross has received PSOB approval, she and her daughter will also benefit from BackStoppers, a St. Louis charity that provides financial assistance to spouses and children of injured and fallen responders.

“We’re going to do everything we can to assist Margie,” said Chief Ron Battelle, executive director of BackStoppers. “We going to try to set up a meeting next week, sit down with her and go over her needs and that of her daughter.”

Ross, relieved by the turn of events, now wants to see if her husband's name can be placed on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial wall in Washington, D.C.

"I want to make sure that George gets the honor he deserves," said Ross, who added that she "appreciates all the efforts from Maplewood, specifically from Sgt. Martin."

Martin applied for the benefits program at the direction of police chief Steve Kruse. A year elapsed before approval was granted. The PSOB office reviews nearly 700 claims each year.