Neil E. Cross

WICHITA -- Neil E. Cross, 89, passed away Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009. He was born Aug. 23, 1920, on a farm near Sylvan Grove to Robert and Dagmar Petersen Cross.

He served in the U.S. Navy from 1942 to 1945 as a firefighter and instructor at Pearl Harbor. On Dec. 28, 1947, Neil and Gladys Eslinger were married in Lincoln County.

He was preceded in death by his parents and two brothers.

Survivors include his wife of nearly 62 years, Gladys, of the home; daughters, Leanna (Dick) Trim, of Shawnee, Okla., and Naomi (Doug) Kutilek, of Clearwater; and son, Larry (Lucinda) Cross, of Wichita; sister, Ruth Herr, of Oregon; seven grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be at 1:30 p.m. today, Nov. 7, at DeVorss and Flanagan-Hunt Mortuary, Wichita, with the Rev. Lee Drennon officiating.

Internment will follow at 2:30 p.m. in Round Springs Cemetery, Mitchell County.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to Immanuel Baptist Church Mission Fund.