BRUNSWICK — Robert M. Cross died on July 15, 2012, in Brunswick. Born in Augusta, Maine, on February 10, 1924, to Leroy D. and Muriel F. (Garvin) Cross, he graduated from Brunswick High School and enrolled at Bowdoin College in the fall of 1942. During World War II he served from 1943-45 in a codebreaking 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.

He received an M.A. in English at Harvard University in 1948. While returning home to Brunswick for the Christmas holiday in 1947 he met Jeannette Steele on the Boston and Maine train. They were married in July of 1948.

He taught Latin and algebra at Cape Elizabeth High School in Maine for a year before joining the English Department at Bowdoin College in 1950. In 1953 he began working in the Alumni Office as administrative assistant to the vice president. He 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 that he held until his retirement in 1990. Over the course of his career he acknowledged several hundreds of thousands of gifts to Bowdoin with a handwritten signature and a personal note. In 1972 he received the Alumni Award for Faculty and Staff, and he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Bowdoin in 1989.

He 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. He 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 track team who displays outstanding qualities of loyalty, sportsmanship and character.

He is survived by his wife, Jeannette, who was the love of his life since that first meeting on the train in 1947; son Peter M. Cross (Candace L. Cross) of Orange, MA; a daughter, Suzanne C. Barton (Robert W. Barton) of Westbrook, ME, and son John R. Cross (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, MA, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins. He was predeceased by his brothers, Donald L. Cross and Kenneth L. Cross, and by a grandson, Ethan R. Barton.

A memorial service will be held at 11:00 AM on Monday, July 23, 2012 at First Parish Church in Brunswick. 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. Arrangements are under the direction and care of Brackett Funeral Home, Brunswick.

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