Dear UPJ community,
I am deeply saddened to share that Rick Bross (B.A. ’73) passed away on May 10, 2026, at the age of 74, while on a biking adventure with friends in Portugal.
On behalf of UPJ, I express our deepest condolences and sympathy to the family, loved ones and friends of Rick Bross.
Rick, who graduated from Johnstown High School in 1969, went on to earn his BA in Economics from UPJ in 1973, a formative period which Rick later credited for his future success at the national and global levels!
And he was incredibly successful! In a storied professional journey that began at Hormel Foods Corporation in Pittsburgh, Rick steadily moved up the ladder, eventually becoming a Group Vice President of Hormel Foods and President of Hormel Foods International Corporation, overseeing the company’s worldwide operations until his retirement in 2012.
UPJ always had a special place in Rick Bross, as evidenced by his sustained and generous philanthropy, including through the Bross Family Scholarship Endowment for excellent students with a strong character and ethical foundation. Rick received numerous recognitions for his leadership and philanthropy, including being inducted into the 1927 Cornerstone Society and receiving the President’s Medal of Distinctive Excellence in 2017. The keynote speaker at UPJ’s 2017 Commencement, Mr. Bross, inspired the graduates with well-honed and time-proven lessons for a successful life. Rick also served as a much-valued member of the UPJ Board of Advisors for the past decade.
Rick enjoyed life intensely as he experienced our world, whether from skiing the slopes of Beaver Creek to biking through the Rockies, from travelling in China or Chile, or in South Africa! As he was wont to say: “Jump higher, worlds await, getting there is all the fun.”
UPJ mourns and celebrates this exceptional human being, an ethically grounded and highly accomplished international corporate titan, a great philanthropist, a passionate man of the world with a big heart for his alma mater. We are profoundly grateful for the tremendous example, generosity and friendship of this illustrious alum and dear friend.
Condolences and heartfelt sympathy,
Jem Spectar