Henry William Cross

Henry William Cross aka Harry was born in 1934 in a third floor flat (apartment) Hackney, London England. He died Monday March 6th at home in his third floor apartment in Bellingham with his wife Sue at his side.
The youngest of four siblings and the only boy, he arrived to an established family of his parents and three sisters ages 8 to 13. His primary school years coincided with World War 2 which left deep emotional scars on him, as it did on so many children across Europe. At age five he and his two youngest sisters were part of the “children only” evacuation from London. When there was no early bombing of the capital, the children were returned to London. Then the bombing did start and there were nights spent in air raid shelters. Henry and the younger girls were evacuated again, this time to the countryside along with their mother. But they later returned home, preferring the familiarity of home with bombs to the isolation of the countryside. Henry became an avid reader and his emotional life suffered another blow in the last few months of the war when the library he visited each week was obliterated by a V2 bomb, killing many of the adults and school children inside.
Henry’s secondary school years were much happier. He was fortunate to attend Enfield Road School where he received an excellent education that stood him in good stead for the rest of his life. He got a good grounding in English and was also taught to touch type, a rarity then for boys in England. French was also offered at school although to a limited level. School Science must have been limited as his scientific experiments were carried out at home with a Bunsen burner attached to his mother’s stove and chemicals bought from a local Chemists Shop (pharmacy). Out of school Henry’s horizons broadened and he was able to develop and pursue his own interests. Sports were big on the agenda. There was cricket and football (soccer) at school and he also played for a local boys’ team which made a short tour to Wales where they played against schoolboy internationals. Boxing and swimming also featured at this time.
Other interests that were to reappear at various times in his life were singing, watching football (soccer) and acting. His grounding in music came from singing in a local church choir and was encouraged by his middle sister Vera who, on returning from an opera, taught him an aria from Madam Butterfly which he was able to sing from memory until very recently. Henry, like many of his contemporaries, was a member of a Scout Troop and enjoyed visits to the camp in nearby Epping Forest. He was introduced to acting by a scout master and it was something that he could throw himself into wholeheartedly.
Henry left Enfield Road School armed with qualifications in English Language, English History and Typewriting. In another time and place he would have been an academic teaching the intricacies of English Grammar with quiet humor. Or a journalist producing witty and insightful articles. But in post-war London Henry attained the highest level of employment available to him - that of Office Worker. His first job was as a copy-reader for Kelly’s Directories. But he quickly progressed to a job in the Boards Division of The Bowater Paper Corporation, a national Pulp and paper manufacturer, where he used his logical skills to provide the best routing for boards from the source in Ireland to the mills in England. Bowaters, located in Central London, was a wonderful place for a young man. The company had a football (soccer team), an after-work bar, luncheon vouchers and a dramatic society. They also held their annual Staff Christmas Party at the Royal Albert Hall where food, wine, cigars and whisky were in plentiful supply. Henry availed himself of all these opportunities and won a company Talent Contest with a Fagin Monologue that he had perfected during is Scouting days.
In 1952 at age 18 Henry’s life at Bowaters was interrupted by two years of National Service. He served in the army with the Second Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. Their first assignment was in Egypt guarding the Suez Canal (pre-Suez Crisis). Living in tents in the desert could not be described as fun and the effect of the sun’s glare on his fair English skin was to produce skin cancers in later life. But there were compensations- a taste of the exotic with a secret trip to the souk when his troop ship docked in Algiers, the chance to box and a never-to-be repeated horse ride on an Arab stallion. The second assignment was with Family support in Cyprus where courtesy of his typing skills he had an office with a desk and a private cot next to it, He also learned to love Turkish coffee. Throughout this time Bowaters paid Henry half-salary and kept a job open for his return.
Back at Bowaters he met and married Kathleen Earley. The couple were faced with a dilemma. There was a scarcity of housing in post-war London and neither of their families had space for them to live at home. A solution was provided by his sister Winnie, a GI bride. On a rare visit home she told the couple, “there are plenty of flats (apartments) in Baltimore.” So there it was and with around $150 borrowed from Henry’s mother the couple immigrated to the US in 1957. Initially they lived with Henry’s sister and her family but soon moved to Dundalk and later to Joppatown. With an excellent reference from Bowaters, Henry quickly obtained a job with Steel Specialties. Initially he was typing order but was soon promoted into and within the Sales Department. Henry was able to play soccer for various teams and through this formed life-long relationships with the John Marron and Vince Keelty families. Kathy and Harry became Auntie and Uncle to the Marron and Keelty children and godparents to Eileen Marron. The couple started their own family with the arrival of son Patrick in 1966 and Jon-Paul two years later.
Sadly in 1977 the company downsized and the family had to move. Fortunately Henry was able to obtain a job with Atlas Alloys in Vancouver as Inventory Controller in Vancouver BC. This job led to more long-term friendships. Also their home in Coquitlam was closer to Kathy’s family who had by then immigrated to Canada. In Coquitlam Henry and Kathy were able to enjoy family time as the boys grew into teenagers with their own interests in sports, camping, BMX and for Jon-Paul acting. Henry continued to sing whilst in Canada and was chosen for a choir that sang for the Pope John-Paul II during his visit to Vancouver
Seven years later there was a downsizing in Canada and Henry returned to the States. He obtained a Sales position with SSP fittings in Cleveland, working again with Roland Brunelle from his Baltimore days. Cleveland was bitter-sweet. Henry enjoyed his positions as Inside and Outside Sales Manager but missed his family who remained in Vancouver. However he had wonderful co-workers who have stayed in touch over the years. He was also able to spend time with family and friends in Baltimore. Henry also took up running at this time and completed two marathons as well as many other local races.
In 1999 after 14 years with SSP and a fun retirement party including a Gorilla-gram, Henry moved here to Bellingham. In Bellingham Henry was able to continue with his singing and running and also reconnect and expand on interests from his youth. Church choir singing was replaced by fun times singing with the Kulshan Chorus. He was also part of the Victorian Carolers and looked so at home in his top hat during their costumed Christmas performances. Henry’s other singing outlet was Karaoke, most recently at the Brock Blatter’s Star Club where he gave it his all with Sinatra and Tony Bennett hits like My Way, I Left My Heart in San Francisco, and My Kind of Town plus his crowd-pleaser Sweet Caroline. Henry continued running and also took up Tai Chi with Senior Center classes from Paul Mullholland. Encouraged by his sons, he continued with stringent exercise routines until earlier this year.
In 2001 Henry began to take annual trips to Europe reconnecting with English family and friends. He also decided that he was going to follow up on his interest in the French language that began at Enfield Road School. So he enrolled in a language school in Hyeres in the South of France and spent six weeks in French Immersion, living with a family who spoke no English and attending morning school and afternoon activities that were conducted solely in French. He returned each fall to the school and his mastery of the French language was impressive. Friends in the Kulshan Chorus introduced him to the Cercle Francais de Bellingham where he has been treasurer and a mainstay of the committee for many years. Henry was also introduced to a French conversation group that met at the Firehouse Café by Rod Burton and in 2008 Rod introduced another Brit, Sue Johnson, to the group. It was love at first sight.
The couple have been together since 2008 and married in 2011. They have traveled together, attended French activities together and have both enjoyed writing. Henry won last year’s Community prize in the Kumquat Challenge Poetry contest at Whatcom Community College and has produced many witty pieces commenting on life in America. He also enjoyed debating at the Socrates Café and in the last two years was able to reconnect with his thespian side. His rich voice was ideal for the radio plays produced on KGMI by the Senior Players. And his voice is preserved on their many recordings, including a recreation of his Fagin monologue from his Boy Scout days.
Henry will be sadly missed by his family and friends. He was a true gentleman with a wonderful dry sense of humor who could never quite accept how amazing he was.
Sue is grateful for all the help and support she has received from family and friends and medical professionals during Henry’s illness. She is particularly thankful for the Family Caregiver Support Program at Northwest Regional Council which provided her with experienced caregivers through the local office of Catholic Social Services.