One of Brentwood’s all time favorite residents and amazingly wonderful citizen was Dr. William Ross. According to a local newspaper the  Patchogue Advance on February 14, 1928 that a well known citizen of Brentwood and one of the pioneers of the community was elected president of the Long Island Chamber of Commerce. At the time of this election there were sixty directors who voted, twelve directors from each of the four counties as well as twelve serving at large.

Dr. Ross serve for over thirty years on various professional and civic organizations.  He founded the Brentwood Civic organization over thirty years ago and served as president of this organization for fifteen years.  He had practiced medicine in Brentwood for thirty-five years at the time of his election. He also served as President of the Suffolk County Library Association and as Vice President of the New York State Medical Association. He served on the Medical Board at Southside Hospital in Bay Shore for five years and for ten years on the Suffolk County Sanatorium Board. He was President of the Suffolk County Tuberculosis and Public Health Association.

Dr. Ross served for twenty-five years as member of the Brentwood Board of Education of which fifteen years he was President of the Board.

Besides his medical qualifications he also is known as an expert in the agriculture field and was member of the executive committee of the Suffolk County Farm Bureau.

In 1923 Dr. Ross was elected President of the Central Islip National Bank and has continued to serve on the board as mentioned in this article. Dr. Ross’s credentials were impeccable and he certainly proved to be a notable citizen of Brentwood.  

 —M.Koferl, Local History Room Newsletter, December 2010