Former Everton chaplain Harry Ross has passed away at the age of 78.
Reverend Ross was the parish vicar at St Luke the Evangelist Church which adjoins Goodison Park between 1977 and 2010 and was appointed club chaplain in 1994.
He was instrumental figure in the Everton Former Players’ Foundation and officiated the funerals of Blues heroes Harry Catterick, Brian Labone, Gordon West and Andy King.
As a boyhood Evertonian who idolised Dave Hickson, Harry remained a popular figure around Goodison even when his parochial duties raised eyebrows elsewhere.
Everton’s FA Cup fourth round tie with Crewe Alexandra saw its kick-off pushed back by half an hour in 2002 due to a clash with the reverend’s Sunday service.
Harry also served as a governor at several local schools and was previously a mathematics teacher at St George of England High School in his native Bootle.
“Reverend Harry Ross was a hugely popular and endearingly familiar figure around Goodison Park,” read an Everton statement.
“He will be sorely missed by everyone who knew him, and the thoughts of everyone associated with the football club are with his wife Wendy and his sons Andrew and Philip.”