- Date Of Birth: October 2, 1924
- Date Of Death: July 19, 2018
- State: Ohio
SALEM – Lt. Col. Clarence E. “Chris” Cross, Jr., age 93, passed away July 19, 2018 at his home in Salem after a 15-year battle with Alzheimer’s. He was a former resident of Titusville, FL and Laurel Bloomery, TN, and had lived in Salem for the last 14 years. He was born October 2, 1924 in Logan, WV, the son of the late Clarence Edward and Dovie Collins Cross.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife, Jeddie Mae Cline Cross; step-mother, Margaret T. Cross; sisters, Mary “Pauline” Merritt, Dovie C. “Mickie” Abbott, William D. “Billie” Barnett, Anna C. Rhodes; brothers, Walter R. “Jack” Cross, Robert L. Cross, and step-brother, Steven Cross and a grandson, Patrick Bommarito.
Chris was a 1942 graduate of Dunbar High School, Dunbar, West Virginia before going into the Army Air Corp for WWII where he was an enlisted radio operator and selected for OCS and navigator training. After completing his required combat missions and discharged, he remained in the military reserves while going to college. Within days after graduating from Morris Harvey College in 1951, he was recalled into the Air Force for service in Korea where he again completed all required combat missions as a bombardier navigator. He remained in the service retiring in 1970 from Homestead AFB, Florida. He moved to Titusville, FL where he worked for various contractors in and around the Kennedy Space Center. He retired in 1991 from Lockheed Marietta and moved to Laurel Bloomery, TN.
He is survived by his daughters, Barbara (Dennis) Smith of The Villages, FL and Susan (James) Weber of Salem; his son, Clarence E. (Ed & Annett) Cross III of Gastonia, NC; a sister, M. Gayle Rowsey; step-brothers, Stanley Cross and Geoffrey Cross; four grandchildren, Michael (Kristy) of Tucson, AZ, Denise Smith, of Denver, CO, Christopher (Tracey) Bommarito of New Market, TN, and Abigail Cross of Gastonia, NC. He also has 12 great-grandchildren, and a faithful cat, Foster.
The family would like to thank the following people who have been such a big part of his life for the past 14 years:
Dr. Denis Lunne and the staff at PRIMA Health
Dr. John Madison and the staff at the Wound Healing Center at Salem Hospital
Owners and employees at HALTEC of Salem
Most of all his caregivers, past and present, who loved and cared for him especially Deb O., Judy B., Linda, Shannon and Misty.
Contributions can be made to Emmanuel Lutheran Church, 251 S. Broadway Ave., Salem, OH 44460 or the Salem Honor Guard , 750 S. Broadway Ave., Salem, OH 44460.
Stark Memorial Saturday, July 21, 2018 01:00 PM – 03:00 PM 1014 East State Street
Salem, OH 44460 Directions
Stark Memorial Saturday, July 21, 2018 03:00 PM 1014 East State Street
Salem, OH 44460 Directions
