In tribute: Doctor remembered for great capacity for care

CLOVIS - Those who knew him in and out of the medical industry called Dr. Bruce Cross a man of exceptional intellect with a great capacity for care.

Cross died Oct. 11 following a battle with cancer.

Born Feb. 16, 1954, in Chicago, Cross and his family soon settled in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he grew up with four siblings, Tim, Mark, Cindy, and Julie.

Son Ben Cross said his dad had a gifted mind with a photographic memory, which promoted a lifelong love of learning. In 1972, he graduated from Regis High School in Cedar Rapids and went on to study at St. John's University in Minnesota.

After graduating from St. John's, Cross attended medical school at the University of Iowa where he decided to become an obstetrician gynecologist. As an OBGYN, Cross knew he would be able to perform surgery while also combining his aspiration to help expecting mothers.

"I have known Dr. Cross since 1980," Plains Regional Medical Center pediatrician Kathryn Winters said. "I had started medical school in 1978 in Dayton, Ohio. He was an intern in his OBGYN residency at Miami Valley hospital in Dayton, Ohio, and I was a third-year medical student at Wright State University doing my first OB rotation.

"That department was famous for embarrassing people. It was the old style teaching - teach by intimidation. But Dr. Cross was different. He did not do that. He was very calm, very instructive, always very helpful, liked to show me new things, explain why we did things, kept his word, and I just loved working with him."

After attending medical school on a military scholarship, Cross came to Clovis by way of the Air Force. Ben Cross said he and his siblings can still remember the pride of going through the security checkpoint with their father, and watching the soldiers salute their father as he entered the base.

Cross's military service ended in 1987, but he decided to remain in Clovis and make it his home.

Seeing a need for women's healthcare in the area, Cross opened Women's Medical Center across from Plains Regional Medical Center.

"I came a year later," Winters said. "So we overlapped by about a year; he was the OBGYN doctor out here and I was the pediatrician. Then he got out and started his own practice here in Clovis. We didn't have a lot of time for personal interaction but we had a lot of professional interaction. And boy, Dr. Cross is the best one I've ever run into ... He just made you want to be the best that you could be."

Under his guidance, WMC has developed into a multi-building complex with a staff large enough to cover many different needs. Cross is credited with delivering thousands of babies over his career, including as many as seven in one night and in some cases delivering babies from multiple generations of the same family.

Dr. Cross saw patients from many different parts of eastern New Mexico and west Texas. His practice filled a need in an area where women would have otherwise needed to head to Lubbock or Albuquerque. At the time of his death he had operated the WMC for 33 years while also serving on various medical committees.

"He was probably one of my very favorite doctors to work with. Always very respectful, and he had high standards for the work that was done and the care that was given; so you wanted to do a good job. But you also knew that if he was there then things were going to be OK even in tough situations," said Kimberly Barnes, PRMC's women's unit and pediatrics manager.

"Growing as a nurse and growing as a professional, he was a great mentor and a great example for the rest of us."

"The biggest thing that Dr. Cross makes me think of," Winters said, "is not only knowledge, intelligence, excellence, and caring for the patient, but love of his family. He just loved his family. His little kids, and now his grandkids, and his wife Linda were just the loves of his life - he would do anything for them."

Cross had five children - Kelley Kennedy, Nick Cross, Kim Cross, Ben Cross and Andy Cross.

"It was quite interesting growing up the child of an OBGYN," Ben Cross said. "You could never stay up late because Dad could come home from work at any hour and catch you."

Ben Cross also remembered peewee football season with his dad.

Dr. Cross would have his boys put on their gear and go out in the backyard. There he would toss each boy around a bit and give them a few light hits, all to make sure their pads would properly protect them and so the boys would not feel scared.

Ben Cross said his father was a kind and patient man, whose profession left him and Nick with some interesting nicknames.

"Nick, a hard hitting, all-state linebacker, was given the nickname of 'Estrogen,'" Ben Cross said, while he was called "Progesterone."

"(He) had a way of ensuring that his children felt safe and protected," Ben Cross said. "He was the same way with his grandchildren. And if one of his children just happened to split their head open at home, it was no big deal for Dr. Cross to give them stitches while they sat on the kitchen counter."