Mostly Cloudy, 39° F
(March 3, 2004)
Former Powell resident John B. Cross, 83, died March 3 at West Park Hospital in Cody.
He was born March 8, 1920, on a farm in Banner County, Neb., to John Richard and Orpha Ellis (Scoville) Cross. He married Iona Mae Schindler on June 24, 1942, in Gering, Neb. They had been married 61 years at his death.
They farmed and built the Hilltop Cafe in Harrisburg, Neb., before moving to Byron in 1963. They lived on an irrigated farm on Whistle Creek south of Byron and fed cattle. They later moved to a place south of Powell, living there 24 years before moving to Cody in 1987. They have lived in Cody since that time.
Mr. Cross could be found at the Cody Nite Rodeo, rain or shine, even before he moved to Cody. This continued until recent years when his health declined.
He also enjoyed going to the senior center and playing cards, going for rides and spending time with his wife, relatives and friends. He loved his doctors and nurses. They brightened his day, and he theirs, by distributing Werthers Candies. Some even called him the Candy Man.
Survivors include his wife, Iona; daughters, Kathy and Roger Stricker and their children, Jason and Misty Stricker and Brandi and Jonathon Hinze, all of Cheyenne, Linda and David Dike of Scottsbluff, Neb., and children Tina and Calvin Ong of Mitchell, Neb., Monica and Bill Harris of Loomis, Neb., Carolyn and Nathan Jones of Rawlins and children Robert and LaDonda Conley of Jackson, Miss., Marci Conley of Rawlins and Keri Rockwell of Lincoln, Neb.; six grandchildren and three step-great grandchildren; his siblings, Jessie Hottell of Bend, Ore., Marjorie Lamm of Ralston, Bill and Joyce Cross of Belgrade, Mont., Mazie Dykes of Powell, Sylvia and Junior Soule of Harrisburg, Neb., Terry and Marilyn Cross of Powell and Sam and Irene Cross of Gillette; and numerous nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
He was buried March 8 on his 84th birthday at Riverside Cemetery, Cody.
