OBITUARY: Gorham”Jerry” Cross
Gorham Lamont “Jerry” Cross of Needham, Mass., formerly of Weston, Mass. passed away on August 25, 2021.
Born in 1929, he was the son of Gorham Lamont Cross and Margaret Warren Cross.
He is survived by his children and their spouses, John Cross (Peggy), Jennifer Peterson (Curt), and Heather Woodworth (Charlie); his grandchildren, Ted and Charlie Cross, Heather and Erik Peterson, and Emily and Henry Woodworth; his great-granddaughter, Olivia Cross; his brother-in law, John Felton (Judith); his devoted caregiver, Nasib Sabil; and many nieces and nephews.
He was predeceased by his brothers, Theodore and Warren “Red;” and his sister, Margaret “Possum.”
Jerry grew up in Wellesley, where he met his one true love and wife of 68 years, Joan, who predeceased him in December 2020. They spent many happy years in Vermont, Boca Grande, Florida and Woods Hole.
He attended the Wellesley Public Schools and was a graduate of Noble and Greenough School and Amherst College.
Jerry had a long career in printing and publishing, first as the president of Nimrod Press, and later in the family publishing business, Warren, Gorham and Lamont. He was, perhaps, prouder of his farming career, which started at age twelve, when he raised 200 chickens in a backyard coop. When a health inspector informed him that he was not allowed to have so many birds, he asked her, “Don’t you know there is a war on?” He kept the chickens.
Jerry loved nothing more than tending his vegetable garden, talking to and playing music for his plants. Careful studies proved Maria Muldaur’s “Midnight at the Oasis” to be an effective stimulator of corn growth. Jerry will be remembered most for his irreverent sense of humor, his interest in others, his love of all dogs, but especially English Setters, his insatiable appetite for vanilla frappes, and his extreme generosity.
He was loved by many and will be sorely missed. A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to the Greater Boston Food Bank, 70 South Bay Ave., Boston, MA 02118.
To visit the online guest book, go to: Duckett-Waterman.com.
