M.D. Albert Dean Cross, a 93-year-old resident of Trenton, died on Wednesday, December 27, 2023, at 3 p.m. in the home.
Visitation will be from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 2, 2024, at Resthaven Mortuary. Services will be held at the First Christian Church in Trenton on Wednesday, January 3, 2024 at 10:30 a.m. Interment will follow the services at Resthaven Cemetery, north of Trenton.
Dr. Cross was born on a farm north of Brimson on February 10, 1930. He was the first child of Raymond R. Cross and Eva M. Johnson Cross. He attended small one room country schools for his elementary education and graduated from Gilman City High School in 1947. He attended Northwest Missouri Teachers College at Maryville during the summer of 1947 and started teaching grades five through eight at Melbourne Elementary School in the fall at the age of seventeen. He continued attending summer school in Maryville and teaching in Melbourne for four years.
His teaching career was interrupted by the Korean War. He was inducted into the United States Army in November 1951. He received his introduction into the medical field when the service sent him to pharmacy tech school. He spent the rest of his service time with the 4th M.A.S.H. in Stuttgart, Germany.
On June 30, 1951, Albert Cross and Vera Mae Thompson were married in Kansas City. She was his soulmate for over 56 years, often working outside the home to help finance his education. They had two sons, Greg and Brad. Vera passed away in November 2007. On April 1, 2009, he and Carol Westcott were married.
Following his discharge from the service in October 1953, he worked at General Mills Product Control Laboratory until the fall semester in 1954 when he enrolled in the pharmacy school at the University of Kansas City where he graduated in May 1957 as an honor student and a member of Rho Chi Honorary Pharmacy Society. He and Vera both worked full-time to save money for medical school expenses for a year and in the fall of 1958, he entered the School of Medicine at the University of Missouri in Columbia. The money they had saved plus a few weeks of GI Bill that he had left lasted about a year. Vera baby-sat and Dr. Cross had a part-time pharmacy job which helped with expenses. Fortunately, the doctors of Missouri had pooled money and started low interest rate lending to medical students. Dr. Cross visited it so often that when he graduated they made him president of the Missouri State Medical Foundation for a few years.
Dr. Cross has been a member of many medical organizations and the recipient of many honors and awards. From medical school he graduated as an honor student and as a member of Alpha Omega Alpha Honorary Medical Society. He was a member of the American Medical Association, Missouri State Medical Association, fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians, Missouri Academy of Family Physicians, and the University of Missouri Medical Proprietary School Board of Governors. He received the University Medical Alumni service award in 1994. He was President of the Grand River Medical Society and Chief of Staff of Wright Memorial Hospital. He was a member of the Board of Trustees and Director of Trenton Trust Bank for over 20 years. He was a board member of the Trenton School Board. He was active as a Boy Scout leader and is a member of the Tribe of Mic-O-Say. He served as President of the Trenton Baseball Association and as President of the American Legion baseball team. He has been a member of the First Christian Church in Trenton for over 56 years and has served in several capacities including Elder, Deacon and Chairman of the Board.
Dr. Cross finished medical training and established his practice of medicine in Trenton on July 1, 1963. He viewed his patients as friends and felt personally responsible for their health care. He never knew a 40-hour work week and was available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. He loved practicing medicine and felt it was an honor and privilege that patients wanted to see him.
Dr. Cross has been involved with, and an advocate of, North Central Missouri College since 1963. He was the first preceptor of nurses from the School of Nursing, which was started in 1966. Since retirement, he has been more active at North Central Missouri College, having served as President of the NCMC Foundation for three years and a member of the Board of Trustees for four years. His most treasured honor was having the new Allied Health building named Dr. Albert and Vera Cross Hall.
Albert Cross was preceded in death by his wife Vera; his parents; and his brother, George.
He is survived by his wife Carol; his sons, Greg (Connie) and Brad (Teresa); his brother, Marvin Ray (Nancy); his sister-in-law, Norma Cross; his grandchildren, Jacob (Staci), Ashlea (Travis) Watson, Ethan (Hayley), Alexander (Danielle) and Zachary. He is also survived by seven great-grandchildren, Keegan, Baylor, Kennedy, Reagan, Shafer, Sawyer and Sonny Duke. Two stepchildren also survive him, Jeffrey (Kati) Westcott and Kelle Westcott and her friend Rand Williams; step-grandchildren, Brooke Westcott and Courtney Westcott (Hunter) Haakonstad; and step-great-grandson Graham. Also, special neighbors Jordan, Christina, Harper, Jovie and Archie Ferguson.
The family suggests that, in lieu of flowers, memorials be made to First Christian Church or the Cross Allied Health Scholarship Fund at North Central Missouri College.
Online condolences may be left at www.resthavenmort.com
