Gary G. Cross' Obituary
Gary Gene Cross of Ames, formerly of Camanche, Iowa, passed away peacefully on Saturday, March 21, 2026.
Gary was born September 2, 1936, in Rock Island, Illinois to Adrian and Vivian (Slaughter) Cross. Adrian and Vivian had moved from Cedar Falls, Iowa to Rock Island during the Great Depression seeking work. Adrian found employment at the International Harvester Farmall Tractor Plant and Vivian at the Oscar Mayer production facility in Davenport. A children’s antique International Harvester Tractor and a pull-toy Oscar Mayer Wienermobile have been handed down for generations and are still enjoyed by Gary’s great-grandchildren.
Gary was later blessed with a brother, Larry. As a family, they attended Broadway Presbyterian Church, where Gary was later confirmed. Gary and Larry attended school through the Rock Island community school system. As a family, they would enjoy attending Rock Island High School football and basketball games and Augustana College football games. They would become season ticket holders of the Tri-Cities Blackhawks, a professional basketball team that played at Wharton Field House in Moline, IL, and which would become the NBA team, the Atlanta Hawks.
Gary didn’t just like to watch sports, he loved to play them. His athletic ability was not to be underscored by his size. Gary began playing football in junior high, and by his sophomore year of high school, was the starting nose guard, with a dominating stature at six-foot-one, 240 pounds. His high school team at Rock Island High School went undefeated for three consecutive seasons.
After high school, Gary continued his football career at Western Illinois University where he played football for two years while studying education with the hopes of becoming both a teacher and coach. He found more than that. While at Western, he met his future wife and fellow Rock Islander, Janet R. Conner. Gary and Jan were married on July 12, 1958 at Gary’s longtime church, Broadway Presbyterian.
Gary’s long-tenured career in education began that same year at South Winneshiek Community Schools in Calmar, Iowa. There he taught shop and physical education and coached both the boys and girls basketball teams. In 1960, Gary accepted a teaching position in Camanche, Iowa, wanting to be closer to home. He would remain a staunch figurehead in the Camanche school system for the next thirty-six years. In his time at Camanche, he coached middle school basketball, varsity football, baseball, and was an assistant varsity basketball coach. He would later become the athletic director. After obtaining his master’s degree and a specialist degree in education from Western Illinois, he became the principal of Camanche Middle School where he remained for twenty years until he retired in 1996.
Even after retirement, Gary remained a pillar in the Camanche community. Gary served as finance chair of St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, was a past president of the Camanche Kiwanis Club, a member of both the Rock Island Masonic Lodge and the School Administrators of Iowa, and served two terms on the Camanche School Board. Gary has since been inducted into the Camanche Community School District Hall of Fame three separate times, including in its inaugural class. He continued to enjoy mentoring students and athletes and the advice and encouragement of Coach Cross was often sought by former students and players.
Gary will be remembered by his family and friends for his love of sports, following both the Iowa and Iowa State football and basketball teams closely over the years and attending countless tailgates and games. He kept busy in retirement by staying on the golf course, which was easy after he and Jan moved to Valley Oaks Golf Course overlooking hole six. He was also a card shark having played poker with the same group of friends for over thirty years and his grandkids got him hooked on Shanghai Rummy which would become a Christmas tradition.
Gary is survived by his wife, Janet; daughter, Nancy Cross of Marshalltown, IA; son, Terry (Susan) Cross of Ames; grandchildren: Elissa (Robert) Hodges, Trisha (Steven) Thoma, Barbara (Chris) Chism, Michael Cordes, Alexa (Ben) Buchanan; great-grandchildren: Alison, Tyson, Emerson, Adrienne, Chase, Andrew and Lucy; and sister-in-law, Patricia Conner. He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother, and his brother-in-law, David Conner.
The Cross family welcomes all to remember and honor Gary at the visitation, March 31, 2026 from 4 to 7 p.m. at Snell-Zornig Funeral Home in Camanche, and at the funeral service, April 1, 2026 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Camanche. Burial will be in the Clinton Lawn Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Camanche Athletic Booster Club, honoring Gary’s lifelong dedication to student-athletes and school athletic programs.
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