We extend our sincere condolences to the David Cross family (BRV66), in the loss of his mother. Obituary below:

Evelyn I. Cross
Evelyn I. Cross, 90, of New Castle, went home to be with her savior on Friday at Hickory Creek in New Castle.

She was born June 4, 1917, in Hagerstown, a daughter of the late Oliver and Emma Gray Favorite.

Evelyn married Homer C. Cross on Dec. 24, 1934, and together, they farmed for many years and sold produce in the Mooreland area. She was a founding member of the Muncie Pilgrim Holiness Church and School and taught the children's Sunday school class for almost 30 years.

She loved being a homemaker and mother and enjoyed cooking and collecting special recipes. She often entered her dishes in The Courier-Times cooking contests, and once she would learn someone's favorite dish she would often surprise them with it. She was kind and loved to help those in need.

She is survived by two daughters, Rochelle Lewis and Pamela Cross, both of New Castle; two sons, David R. (wife: Beverly) Cross of New Castle and Michael Cross of Mooreland; nine grandchildren, Susan (husband: Randall) Melton, Sheryl (husband: Bruce) Morrow, Sheila Duncan, Jeff (wife: Cindy) Cross and Gina (husband: Tony) Marcum, all of New Castle, Jeremy (wife: Debbie) Lewis of Muncie, Michael (wife: Laurie) Cross Jr. of Atlanta, Ga., Jonathan (wife: Amanda) Cross of Carmel and Joshua (wife: Sarah) Cross of Muncie; a step-grandson, Aaron Pope of New Castle; 18 great-grandchildren, six great-great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Homer Cross, in December 1999; an infant son, Homer Ronald; a great-granddaughter, Staci Morrow; a brother, Ernest Favorite, and six sisters, Marie Moore, Retta Heaston, Helen Rhodus, Olive Medsker, Lucille Cross and Opal Rhodus.

The service will be at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday in the Muncie Pilgrim Holiness Church with Pastor Stephen G. Clemens officiating. Burial will follow in South Mound Cemetery, West Lawn Addition.

Friends may call from 4-8 p.m. Monday at Sproles Family Funeral Home and one hour prior to the service Tuesday at the church.

You may send a personal condolence to the family at www.sprolesfamilycares.com.

Nov. 23, 2007

A Different Christmas Poem
> The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
> I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
> My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
> My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
> Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
> Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
> The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
> Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
> My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
> Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
> In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
> So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.
>
> The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
> But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
> Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the
> sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
> My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
> And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
> Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
> A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
>
> A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
> Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
> Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
> Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
> "What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
> "Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
> Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
> You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"
>
> For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
> Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..
> To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
> Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
> I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."
> "It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
> That separates you from the darkest of times.
> No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
> I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
> My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,"
> Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
> My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',
> And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
> I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
> But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
>
> Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
> The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
> I can live through the cold and the being alone,
> Away from my family, my house and my home.
> I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
> I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
> I can carry the weight of killing another,
> Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
> Who stand at the front against any and all,
> To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."
> "So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
> Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
> "But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
> "Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
> It seems all too little for all that you've done,
> For being away from your wife and your son."
> Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
> "Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
> To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
> To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
> For when we come home, either standing or dead,
> To know you remember we fought and we bled.
> Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
> That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."
>
> PLEASE, Would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many people
as you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our
U.S.service men and women for our being able to celebrate these festivities.
Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people
stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for
us.
>
> LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN
> 30t h Naval Construction Regiment
> OIC, Logistics Cell One
> Al Taqqadum , Iraq.
>
>
>

Our sincere condolences to Rod Grimm in the loss of his Father and Mike Matthew's in the loss of his Mother. Our thoughts and prayers are with their families.

November 10 & November 11