George M. Cross Jr., 88, locomotive engineer

George Mathias Cross Jr., 88, of West Philadelphia, the first black locomotive engineer to drive a passenger train into 30th Street Station, died of cancer Thursday, July 7, at a hospice in Northeast Philadelphia operated by Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital.

When Mr. Cross made his landmark trip in 1966, he was featured in the Pennsylvania Railroad Co.'s monthly bulletin, said his son, George M. Cross III.

"He mailed it to me at the Great Lakes naval base, and I showed it all around, and it created quite a bit of excitement. The family all had copies," his son said, "and we celebrated it for many years."

Over the years, Mr. Cross worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad, Penn Central, Conrail, and Amtrak. He pulled the night shift and showed up even when sick because he needed to support his large family.

Mr. Cross was a World War II Navy veteran and afterward enlisted in the Naval Reserve. His train career overlapped with the Reserve years, so he juggled two careers, his son said. When he finally retired in 1982, he received pensions from both.

Mr. Cross was a stickler for excellence. He expected it of himself and his children. In retirement, he studied carpentry at Delaware Valley Trade School as the oldest student.

"His classmates laughed at him until they saw his correct answers on all of his exams," his son said.

Mr. Cross grew up in West Philadelphia and graduated from Overbrook High School in 1940. As an adult, he moved to North Philadelphia and then to the Wynnefield section.

While in a high school hallway, his son said, Mr. Cross met "the prettiest girl on Merion Avenue in West Philly." Josephine Francis Douglas became his wife in 1943, and the match lasted 45 years until her death in 1988.

Mr. Cross enlisted in the Navy after high school, aiming to become an engineer. His keen math and science skills earned him a place as an engineering student at Hampton Institute of Technology, now Hampton University.

After two years of study, Mr. Cross made history as one of the first black engine men to serve on a submarine during World War II. He told stories about how dangerous life was below deck.

His Navy service spanned four decades, including the Korean War, and he was deployed during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. That conflict taught him that "you have to mean what you say. You can't bluff," his son said.

He was honorably discharged from the Reserve in the early 1980s at the rank of senior chief petty officer.

Mr. Cross was a member of the Black World War II Navy Veterans of America and took pride in attending the group's annual convention.

He was an avid poker and pinochle player and always won at checkers. At 85, he bought a computer and learned to use it.

In addition to his son George, he is survived by another son, Vernon; daughters Faith P. Stevenson, Loretta Webb, Francine Cross Murray, Cherise L. Barkley, Ieasha B. Hobbs, and Marvella McDaniel; two sisters; eight grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren.

A viewing at 9 will precede a memorial service at 10 a.m. Thursday, July 14, at Refuge Church of Christ, 5143 Race St. A graveside military burial will follow at Washington Crossing National Cemetery, Newtown.