Doolittle Home’s Board of Trustees, staff and residents mourn the loss of devoted twenty year volunteer Richard Leon Cross who died suddenly as the result of an automobile accident Dec. 20, 2012. His talents, humor and friendship will be missed by all.
An honor graduate of Bangor High School he moved to Boston in 1960 to attend Bentley College. An honor graduate of Bangor High School he moved to Boston in 1960 to attend Bentley College. He earned an associate and bachelor’s degree in accountancy in 1962 and 1966, respectively; and after that a Master of Business Administration from Northeastern University. As an undergraduate, he was a faculty assistant and a member of the accounting correcting department. Richard went on to the Boston office of Ernest & Young, filling the post of staff auditor for three years.
In 1969 as a certified public accountant, he returned to Bentley, where he joined the accountancy faculty and remained for 40 years until his retirement in 2008. His contributions ranged across the institution which included teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels, chairing the accountancy department, coordinating the certified public accountant review course, and serving on many faculty committees. In the realm of college governance, he represented the faculty on the academic affairs, institutional advancement and nominating committees of the board of trustees. From 1991 to his retirement, 17 years, Professor Cross was the school’s ceremonial marshal. Professor Cross’ unfailing commitment to students inspired several awards, notably, the Gregory H. Adamian Award for Teaching Excellence and the Outstanding Advising Award. His mentoring role extended to coordinating the Bentley Business Bowl case competition and advising student organizations such as Beta Alpha Psi and Kappa Pi Alpha. His professional memberships included Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants and American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
The Becker certified public accountant review tapped his expertise as an editorial board member and instructor. He also taught courses in Boston for the U.S. Civil Service Commission, Northeastern University and Harvard Business School. Until his death, Professor Cross was long committed to community causes and active with Bay Village Neighborhood Association, Boston; Doolittle Home, a life-care retirement home in Foxborough, Mass.; and Hillel Council of Greater Boston. “Richard was a dear friend and our hearts are broken from the loss.” DeAnna Willis, Doolittle Home’s Executive Director shared.