Gordon Cooper Cross was born on December 7th, 1927, in Wichita Kansas. He passed away on November 25th, 2008, two weeks shy of his 81st Birthday. Gordon died of complications from pneumonia. He was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Lou, his parents, Letta (Ramp) Cross, John Milton Cross, his siblings, Letty, Emily, and Dallas.
He is survived by his son, Alan (Wendy) Cross, his daughter, Linda (Bill) Glandon, his grandchildren: Caitlin Noel Cross, Alexandra Nicole Glandon, and Nicholas Cooper Glandon, his brother, Milton (Maggie) Cross, his sister, Mary (Allan) Anderson, and numerous nieces and nephews.
As a young man, Gordon graduated from The University of Minnesota with a Bachelors Degree in Forestry. During the summer months he was employed as a Smoke Jumper working in Oregon, Washington State, and California.
He was drafted into the U.S. Army in the fall of 1952. Gordon served two years at Camp Chaffee, Arkansas. His favorite activities were USO dances and going out to the airport to watch the planes take-off and land. He was honorably discharged in October of 1954.
Following in the footsteps of his father, a famous Alaskan bush pilot, John Cross, Gordon became a commercial airline pilot. On June 10th, 1955, he was hired by Wien Air Alaska. His career as a Wien Pilot culminated in the rank of 727 Captain. His proud association with Wien Airlines would span four decades and made him a part of the extended family of Wien employees, loyal and endearing friends he would cherish all his life.
As a young pilot he began to correspond with Mary Lou Sanchez de Tagle, a beautiful girl from Mexico City. They complimented each other perfectly and fell in love. They were married in New Orleans in 1959 and settled in Fairbanks Alaska.
Gordon and Mary Lou started a family in 1960 with the birth of their son, Alan Ray. Their daughter, Linda May, was born in 1962. Gordon moved his family to Anchorage Alaska in 1967. The Cross family left Alaska in 1980 and lived for ten years in Federal Way, Washington. Gordon and Mary Lou loved Hawaii and retired there for two years then left to settle in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1990. Gordon mourned the passing of his darling Mary Lou on April 30th, 2007.
Gordon was a kind, easy-going man, blessed with quiet confidence. He had a sharp mind and a wonderful, quick, sense of humor. And he loved flying. He flew everything from a hang glider to the Douglas DC-3, the Curtis C-46, the Fairchild F-27, the Boeing 727, and 737 commercial jets. After the Wien era ended, Gordon flew for a variety of other airlines in his final years as a pilot, including Sal Air, McClain Airlines, Pia Airways and Panorama Air Tours in Hawaii.
Gordon was a man of many interests. He was an excellent tennis player and an outdoor enthusiast who loved to hike the foothills and mountains of places he lived. He traveled the world, visiting Japan, Indonesia, Europe, The Caribbean, and, of course, Mexico. Gordon always sought to better himself both mentally and physically. In the end we remember him as a warm, generous, father; a husband who loved his wife, a man who lived his life with unrelenting optimism and courage.
A celebration of Gordon's life will be held in Kirkland Washington on
January 11th, 2009. For information regarding the memorial, please e-mail Linda Glandon at Glandon1@msn.com
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