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NFC: Fw: Re: Sad News, Frank Cross
> Dear Colleague:
>
> It is my sad duty to tell you that Frank Cross died today (19 July
2001)
> of a massive viral infection. His entire family attended him during his
> illness. Marie Cross has indicated that the services will be private.
> Cards sent to the residence are appropriate, but the family asks that
phone
> calls and visitation be postponed to a later date. There will be a
memorial
> service and wake to remember Frank in the fall, but no date has been
> specified at this time.
>
> Sympathy Cards to:
>
> The Cross Family
> 2729 Stratford Road
> Lawrence, KS 66049-2847
>
> With regret,
>
> Ed Wiley
>
> ps, I encourage you to forward this email to others who may not have
> heard this sad news.
> EOW
>
> Frank Cross
>
> SATURDAY, JULY 21, 2001
> Memorial services for Frank Bernard Cross, 75, Lawrence, are pending
and
> will be announced by Warren-McElwain Mortuary. Private graveside
services >>>will be in Pioneer Cemetery, Lawrence.
>
> Mr. Cross died Thursday, July 19, 2001, at Lawrence Memorial Hospital.
> He was born Sept. 17, 1925, in Kansas City, Mo., the son of Frank and
> Fearn (Hamilton) Cross. He served during World War II. He moved to
> Lawrence in 1951. He was a professor of systematics and ecology at
> Kansas University from 1951 until retiring in 1991. He wa a curator for
> the Natural History Museum.
> He married Marie Zepplin on Nov. 24, 1954, in Lawrence. She survives of
> the home.
>
> Other survivors include a son, Frank, Austin, Tex.; two daughters,
Betty
> Sue Cross, Maryland Heights, Mo., and Julie Cross Hoko, Madison, Conn.;
> a brother, Hays, Clinton, Okla.; a sister, Margaret Cross, Stillwater,
> Okla.; and one grandchild.
>
> The family suggests memorials to the Kansas University Endowment
> Association for the Department of Ichthyology or to a charity of the
> donor's choice, and may be sent in care of the mortuary.
Family, colleagues recall former biology professor
By Stephanie Paterik
SATURDAY, JULY 21, 2001 Lawrence Journal-World
Frank Cross handled fish much as he handled people — with extreme
interest and care. The former Kansas University biology professor spent
a lifetime traversing the state to study fish, and he inspired many
people along the way. He died Thursday at Lawrence Memorial Hospital.
Born in Kansas City, Mo., in 1925, Cross moved to Lawrence in 1951 to
teach systematics and ecology at KU. There, he worked primarily with
graduate students and was a curator for the Natural History Museum.
Although he retired in 1991, he continued to work at the museum at least
once a week, teaching students how to identify various species of fish.
While many biologists examine fish under a microscope to identify the
species, Cross would hike up his pants, trudge through a stream and
identify them with his naked eye, said Joseph Collins, a former
colleague. "He's the only person I know who could do that," Collins
said. "The better students learned from him and went ahead, and the rest
of us were left to look under the microscope."
His son, Frank Cross Jr., said his dad traversed the state, wading
through even the smallest ponds to examine various species of fish. "He
loved field work," he said. "He traveled all over the state
investigating every little creek, even ponds on peoples farms, to see
what was there."
Cross literally wrote the book on Kansas fish. His first textbook, "The
Handbook of Fishes in Kansas," was published in 1967. He later co-wrote
a text called "Fishes in Kansas" with Collins in 1975 and revised it in
1995. "Almost everybody in the state of Kansas who got a degree in
biology learned about fishes
from Frank or his writings," Collins said. Students who got to work with
Cross in person were at an advantage, he added. People were drawn to his
gentle demeanor and excellent sense of humor, said Ed Wiley, curator at
the Natural History Museum. "He was a realist in terms of his outlook on
life and the way he approached life," Wiley said. "I liked him
immensely. He was the sort of person who, when he gave his opinion,
people listened to it."
Brad Kemp, assistant director for public affairs at the museum, said
fair-mindedness and an unassuming nature were Cross' trademark traits.
"What I think of when I think of Frank Cross is an unfailing, compelling
sense of fairness
and unfailing good will," he said. "He was always very friendly, and
even after his
retirement he cared deeply about this program and his colleagues."
Although Cross was devoted to his work, family was always most
important, said wife Maria Cross and son Frank Cross Jr.
He is survived by three children. "He would want to be remembered for
his family and how much we cared for him and he cared for us," said
Frank Cross Jr., a law professor at the University of Texas. "I
certainly use him as a guide for how to live my life."