Robert M. Cross, of the Class of 1945, and Secretary of the College Emeritus, during Reunion Weekend 2010.
Robert M. Cross, a member of Class of 1945 and Secretary of the College Emeritus, died Sunday, July 15, 2012, at the age of 88. As editor of The Whispering Pines and as correspondent for the College, Cross was quite literally the link to Bowdoin for generations of alumni.
“He was the traditional voice of Bowdoin, and it was through Bob’s voice — and his pen — that scores of alumni remained connected to, involved in, and deeply proud of their alma mater,” said President Barry Mills. “He served six presidents of Bowdoin, but more importantly, he served the people and the community that define this place.”
Born in Augusta, Maine, February 10, 1924, Cross graduated from Brunswick High School and enrolled at Bowdoin in the fall of 1941. During World War II he served from 1943 to 1945 in a code-breaking unit of the U.S. Army Signals Intelligence Corps in North Africa and Italy, attaining the rank of technician, 4th grade. Following the war he returned to Bowdoin and graduated in 1947 as a member of the Class of 1945, summa cum laude and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. At Bowdoin, he was a member of the track team and was the winner of the Class of 1875 Prize in American History and the Almon Goodwin Phi Beta Kappa Prize.
He earned his master’s degree in English at Harvard University in 1948. In 1947, while returning home to Brunswick for the Christmas holiday, he met Jeannette Steele on the Boston and Maine train. They were married in July 1948.
Cross taught Latin and algebra at Cape Elizabeth High School in Maine during the 1948-49 academic year. In 1950 he returned to Bowdoin as an instructor in the English department. He began working in the alumni office in 1953, edited the alumni magazine and The Whispering Pines newsletter, and was Secretary of the Alumni Fund from 1959 until 1983, when he was appointed Secretary of the College, a position he held until his retirement in 1990.
Over the course of his career, Cross acknowledged many thousands of gifts with a handwritten signature and a personal note. He was the Old Guard’s Class Agent in the Alumni Fund for more than 50 years and was 1945’s Class Agent from 1954 to 1962. Each year, the Alumni Council presents the Robert M. Cross Award to “the Class Agent or Agents whose hard work and loyalty to Bowdoin are deserving of special recognition.”
Bowdoin honored Cross for his “service and devotion to Bowdoin” in 1972 with the Alumni Award for Faculty and Staff. The College awarded him an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree in 1989 for his many contributions, including “bringing the College to vivid life for Bowdoin men and women everywhere.”
Cross was a member of First Parish Church in Brunswick (UCC), where he served as a deacon, historian and clerk over the years. He organized class reunions for the Brunswick High School Class of 1941, and enjoyed sharing in the lives of his many friends in the community and in the Bowdoin family. Bob and Jeannette were Maine State track officials for many years, and an award in their name is given annually to a member of the Bowdoin women’s team who displays outstanding qualities of loyalty, sportsmanship and character.
Cross is survived by his wife, Jeannette; son Peter M. Cross ’72 (Candace L. Cross) of Orange, Mass.; a daughter, Suzanne C. Barton (Robert Barton) of Westbrook, Maine, and son John R. Cross ’76 (Leslie C. Shaw) of Brunswick; grandchildren Emily T. Cross, Eben S. Cross (Meridith Greene), Anna C. Barton, Lauren T. Cross, and Audrey L. Cross; a sister, Marjorie C. Buschner of Holyoke, Mass.; sisters-in-law Ruth C. Cross of Livingston, N.J.; and Janis M. Cross of Hallowell, Maine, and nieces, nephews and cousins.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Cross Family Scholarship Fund, Bowdoin College, 4100 College Station, Brunswick, ME 04011-8432, to First Parish Church, 9 Cleaveland St., Brunswick, ME 04011, or to the charity of your choice. There will be a memorial service at First Parish Church in Brunswick. Further details of the arrangements will be shared as they become available.
“Many think of college as a contained four-year experience,” said President Mills. “At Bowdoin, we know that those four years are truly just a beginning and that the relationships and bonds begun in those years last and enrich a lifetime. Bob Cross made sure of it. For that, and for his steadfast devotion to this community, he holds a special and enduring place in our hearts and in the proud history of Bowdoin College. I know each of you joins me in extending the thanks and sympathies of a grateful College to Jeannette and to the entire Cross family.”
Bob was a quiet giant of a gentleman, scholar, friend and person for all seasons!
To say that he will be missed is the grossest of understatements.
Dick Burns ’58
No finer gentleman ever lived.
Bob Cross kept me and thousands of other alumni connected to the College in a manner that almost had you believing that you never really left the campus. The value of his service to Bowdoin will never be able to be accurately measured, but his loss will be acutely felt by all.
My deepest sympathy to the Cross family from the Watsons. He was a special person and we will remember him this way.
Bob was one of the most congenial people I have ever met. After graduation he became my best link to the college. He will always be Mr Bowdoin in my book. Godspeed, Bob, and thank you.
The personal handwritten note, taught by my mother, and reinforced for so many years by Bob Cross, has served me well in business, and retirement years fund-raising. May it never totally perish!
Bob was such a warm and wonderful man. We are all so lucky to have known him and to have been touched by his dedication to Bowdoin. We are also lucky to have the benefit of another generation of the Cross family to keep us all informed. My condolence to John and the Cross family.
I met Prof Bob Cross in his freshman english class in 1951 and knew him well for all the years since as Bob knew all graduates since then. My daughter, Rary’83, was surprised that he knew who she was from the beginning. I wasn’t ! Great man and he will be missed
The epitome of elegance and grace, Bob Cross nurtured relationships beautifully and is one of Bowdoin’s greatest. Thank you Bob.
My condolences to John and the Cross family. Bob Cross was a fantastic writer and a warm and gracious person who exemplified everything I admire about Bowdoin and Maine.
A wonderful man and with Jeanette a great couple, we’ll miss seeing them around campus on their walks, picking up litter, and offering warm smiles and conversation.
Carol and /don
I looked forward to his beautifully crafted Whispering Pines articles; each was a pleasure to read.
Bob Cross was one of the finest gentleman I have had the pleasure of knowing in my lifetime. During my years on the Alumni Council ,Alumni Fund Board and years later I
enjoyed his intellect,humor,good nature and dedication to Bowdoin. That old typewriter of his should be put in a Bowdion shrine! My condolence to the Cross family! Ray & Sheila
He never forgot the personal details. No matter how far in the past one had graduated, Bob’s earthy personal notes always struck a chord. What a boon to the College and what a wonderful man.
The Whispering Pines has truly made Bowdoin “forever” for me. John certainly learned from his father and is carrying on in the
same beautiful way. My condolence to the Cross family. Bill Shoemaker
Everyone you and I know shall remember Mr. Cross. He was a force that built a college.
A great yet humble man whose simple, genuine interest in every person touched every person.
He made the college accessible and gave it a human feeling to every alum.
My deepest sympathy to John, his Mom and the Cross family.
It is so fitting that John continues to make the college come alive to his fellow alums.
Bob Cross helped sustain the spirit of the college through his letters. Those reports in green ink included sad news of friends passing but also affirmed life continuing in the changing seasons and restorative nature of the college and its enduring community. A copy of “The Whispering Pines” was often the highlight of a long day’s mail, a welcome reminder from a personal north star of humanity, messages of reason and encouragement, warmly written without a wasted word. The college has been fortunate to have the dedication and constancy of Bob Cross and others helping to tell the Bowdoin story. What a rare succession it has been for the school to have son John further the Cross mission by sharing observations, researching history and advancing information within Bowdoin’s electronic world village. To the Cross family, combined condolence and celebration for the achievements of a long and generous life in which one person made a difference to many others.
I have in my possession many of Bob’s personal notes to my father, Charles Ireland ’42, from congratulations on the birth of his children to his professional accomplishments. My father always made sure to visit him when in Brunswick and it was a pleasure always to see him while I was on campus. We can thank him for his dedication to Bowdoin and for giving us his son John, an amazing writer, to continue his remarkable legacy.
My condolences to the Cross family. Sending much love.
Bob was an outstanding exemplar of the Best of Bowdoin. His notes and writings in the Whispering Pines were inspirational. We miss him greatly. Condolences to all of the Cross family. Kindest Personal Regards, Dave Conrod
Bob Cross was a true gentleman and extremely humble as well. He represented the best of Bowdoin College; as an alum, an employee, a longtime Brunswick resident and an individual who was sincerely interested in what so many fellow alums did in their lives.
Bob’s legacy will live on in his two Bowdoin graduate sons; my classmate and friend Peter and his younger brother, John. His legacy will also live on in the fond memories of him that so many of us will always hold dear.
May you rest in peace, Bob!!
My sympathy to the Cross family and especially our classmate John who has carried on his father’s legacy so well. We are all so grateful for your stewardship of the Bowdoin community.
To me, Bob Cross was Bowdoin. His devotion to the College was evident with the passion he devoted to The Whispering Pines.
I always looked forward to reading it and getting an insight into the real atmosphere at the college. Having moved to
Brunswick (Harpswell) in 1998 I had the great pleasure of visiting with Bob many times. His legacy will live on with his son,
John as The Whispering Pines continues.
I deeply regret not being able to attend Bob’s memorial service in Brunswick yesterday. I had the opportunity to work beside him as a colleague at Bowdoin for 15 years and had the privilege of emceeing his retirement party in 1990. No one outworked Bob on behalf of Bowdoin. He cared. Deeply. Mere mention of his name evokes vivid images of alma mater among generations of alumni. Every college worth its salt should be so fortunate to have a Bob Cross tilling its field of graduates and reaping such impressive and meaningful results that go far beyond fundraising goals. He truly nourished relationships with this special place in Maine that will last forever. David Huntington’67
1952 was a very good year. I somehow managed to squeeze into Bowdoin, one of my best decisions ever. I also had the good fortune to be assigned to Bob Cross’s classroom for my required English class. I loved this course and the man who taught it. His persistence in making us write something at each session that was actually readable and understandable was painful at the time but certainly came in handy later on. Bob also gave the class a marvelous gift during that year, the opportunity to experience some of the greatest literature ever written. This exposure certainly helped to enrich my life and I am sure many others as well. I will always be thankful to this good and decent man, who worked so hard to open up the young minds of his students. Thank you Bob for all you have done for Bowdoin, it’s students and alumni.
I want to extend my sincere condolences to the Cross family and a sincere thank you to his son John, who has stepped right up to carry on his father’s tradition of keeping the Bowdoin community so well informed. Also, John, please let your mother know that we still have several of her lovely hand painted magnets on our refrigerator door as a constant reminder of your parents kindness and good work.
Bevo ’56