David Daniel Cross died Friday, April 27, after battling brain cancer for 7 1/2 years. He left behind his wife, Karin; two sons, Mason and Deven; his daughter Lydia; his mom and dad, Sue and John Cross; two sisters, Deb McMillen and Lori Antholzner, and their families; a brother, John; two older sons, Mitch and Andy Cross; and in-laws Mary Ann and Ray Hinz, who truly loved him like a son. He would have become a grandfather by Mitch's wife this week.
That's a start at describing the hole that Dave Cross leaves in the world. Musician, writer, wiseass, pal: those are some words for him. He was one of the funniest guys you'd ever want to meet, and though his humor had bite, he was also as sweet as the Slurpees he loved. When his memory failed at the end, he gave me the same baseball cap five times.
Dave was a huge bundle of fun. He loved collecting bottles on the canal with his mother-in-law; buying glass animals at Archimage for Lydia (100 of 'em, one at a time); Pink Floyd, Duran Duran, the Carpenters, and Thelonius Monk; coffee, the drink, and Coffee, his band (whose records were released all over the world); Ultrabrite toothpaste and strawberry ice cream; the ocean, any beach, and picnicking with his kids; fishing and buying bait; Teletubbies and the Tinky Winky T-shirt my wife bought him; his dog, Buddy; and buying flowers for Karin, whom he loved ferociously.
He was as good a friend as anyone could ever hope for, and a better one than most will ever know. He was a hell of a man, spelled M-A-N, and he had, as Mary Ann says, real grit. When my son asked how long I'll be sad, I said, "Till the day I die." Many share that sentiment.