Happy Thanksgiving from wife Jan & me from @LucasOilStadium Go @steelers !! pic.twitter.com/S6rMirt96L
— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) November 25, 2016
Jan Ross, the wife of WWE commentator Jim Ross, has died.
Jim Ross announced the sad news on Twitter on Wednesday night, telling his followers that Jan had received her last rites and that “My little Angel is gone.”
A Priest gave my wife Jan her last rites tonight. My little Angel is gone.
— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) March 23, 2017
On Monday, March 20th, Jan Ross was struck by a 2000 Mercury Grand Marquis while driving her Vespa to the gym. According to TMZ, both the car and the scooter caught on fire. Jan was subsequently rushed to the hospital in critical condition.
Jim Ross said that his wife suffered a catastrophic brain injuryincluding multiple skull fractures and that she quickly underwent surgery. She was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident. Jim Ross wrote in a blog post that a helmet “arguably would have prevented the extreme nature of her injuries.”
On Wednesday morning, Ross said that he hoped that “the swelling of Jan’s brain will subside soon as it must for her to survive,” but this unfortunately did not happen, and Jan Ross was pronounced dead later that day.
Jim Ross had been married to his wife Jan for 24 years. She was a flight attendant, and Jim met her while on a plane during his travels with WCW. Jim says that while he was working with the WWE, his wife could not have been more hospitable towards all of the company’s employees.
“She loved the talents and their spouses, invited them into our home, cooked for them and even did some of their laundry that they would bring over,” Ross said on his website. “Some of the Attitude Era’s biggest stars were made to feel welcome in our home over the years thanks to my wife.”
Ross also revealed that his wife helped him battle depression.
“She helped me battle thru multiple bouts of depression as a result of the multiple, Bells palsy attacks, my dependence on Ambian, and nursed me to back health after serious, colon surgery that threatened my life and she never complained one time,” Ross said.
Members of the WWE universe immediately expressed their condolences when Jim Ross announced the news of his wife’s passing. On Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown Live, John Layfield made mention of Jim Ross’ wife Jan, and so it would not be surprising to see some sort of tribute on next week’s WWE programming.