To me C. Howard Cross might have been the very best educator that I ever crossed paths with…He was our principal at the old Guilford Junior High School/Guilford Elementary School back in the day…
Mr. Cross was fair and he was honest…He would always be up front with you and let you know where he stood, and if you stood around too long, chances are, he would make sure you got moving…
He went by the name of Howard Cross, but he always signed his name, C. Howard Cross…He would explain something to you, and then ask you “do you see this”, and then you could answer, yes sir, I see that, Mr. C. Howard Cross…
Mr. Cross was one of the few educational administrators, who was also still a teacher…I can remember back in the fifth grade when he was our school principal, at the Guilford Elementary School, and even though he was the top boss at the school, he was our commandant, leader, and again, our school principal; but he also was a teacher, as he took special time to instruct all of the fifth graders in a weekly “Tumbling Class”…
That was one of most memorable and fun classes that I ever experienced, going through all levels of education, from preschool watching Captain Kangaroo, all the way to end of college….That tumbling class was off of the hook/off of the charts….I could go back and relive that class today, and still be able to do so many of things that Mr. Cross taught us…
The first thing that he taught us was to take our shoes off before going on to the tumbling mat….Then the classes and instruction would begin, and with Mr. Cross in charge, it was alway organized and highly orchestrated, but you still were able to have fun, and boy did you learn everything about all phases of tumbling…And one the most important things he taught us was safety…Be safe and be focused, when you are around that tumbling mat…..And keep the mats pushed in, and all together, at all times…
Mr. Cross taught us tumbling, and we were shown how to do a forward roll, a somersault, a backward roll, a back-flip, he had us doing cartwheels, and the cartwheels were never my real favorite, but he had us doing hand-stands, and head-stands, and one of the most fun parts of all, he had us jumping over people…
The jumping over people part was challenging and exciting, and it taught you discipline…We had to get a good running start, and then came the big dive, and when you are jumping over eight or nine people, you better get a good stretch on your jump, so you will have the proper clearance….
Mr. Cross taught us how to make this jumping over people with a diving forward roll, a real competition….It was even a bit challenging for the people who were laying down on the mat, you know, the people you had to jump over…They had to stay tightly pressed up together, so the jumpers could make their true “leap of faith”, and if you were the last person in line for the group of people laying down on that mat, you better hope the jumper got a good push, and that he didn’t come crashing down on top of you…The last person in the line of logs, so to speak, had to be sure they were ready to take a blow/hit if necessary…
Another sort of wild and crazy element of the class, was Mr. Cross had us doing flips off of other people’s backs…You would get a running start, place your hands on the other person’s back and then push off and do a flip back to the mat…Mr. Cross would give you a little extra push/boost if you were having trouble getting all the way over, coming off of the person’s back…Great learning experience….
Those were some great times in those Tumbling Classes, taught by Mr. C. Howard Cross, a true educator, who knew how to get his students up and jumping/moving/tumbling….I could go back take that class again today, and it would still be fun….We also learned how to build/make pyramids out of people and we did just about everything you could do on a tumbling mat…I’m pretty sure Mr. Cross went out of his way to give us a certificate of participation, when we completed his Tumbling Class…
Some crazy memories looking back, to remember that much about a fifth-grade Tumbling Class, you know Mr. Cross had to be doing something right, when it came to teaching his students tumbling…
Will never forget Mr. C. Howard Cross, and the great work he did at the Guilford Elementary School/Guilford Junior High School…The respect we had for that man goes beyond saying…He gave us much more than we signed up for, and it was all good, and worthwhile…
Mr. Cross worked alongside Mr. William(Bill) Herndon, and those two made a real tough, but again fair and honest team, with Mr. Cross as the school principal, and Mr. Herndon, as the school assistant principal…
Mr. C. Howard Cross would also travel with his/our students on field trips, and it was not uncommon for him to drive the bus/activity bus on our class/school trips…Mr. Cross did whatever it took, to make the school day work…He was one of the most diligent and dedicated educators that this county(Guilford) has ever seen/produced…
RIP:Mr. C. Howard Cross, and thank-you for all that you taught us, and for the lasting memories those lessons allowed us to capture and keep alive, even today…
Charles Howard Cross
MAY 31, 1934 – NOVEMBER 7, 2021
Greensboro, NC
Colonel Charles Howard Cross, passed away suddenly on Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021 at 87 years of age. He was born May 31, 1934 in High Point, a son of the late Charles Edward Cross and Ruby Richardson Cross.
He married Ruby Sheffield Cross May 6,1960, who survives of the home. He is also survived by a daughter, Cheryl A. Cross, and a son Charles Alan Cross (Leigh Ann); three granddaughters, Victoria Cross and Meredith Cross, Jordan Sanchez (Mario), and great grandson Sebastian Sanchez; brother in law and sister in law Jimmie and Arlene Brooks of South Hill, Virginia.
He was a retired member of the North Carolina National Guard. He retired from Guilford County Schools as assistant superintendent. He spent 37 years in education.
He was a member of First United Methodist Church, High Point for many years and supported their ministries.
Funeral service will be private due to Covid.
Memorials may be directed to First United Methodist Church, High Point, or the charity of the donor’s choice.
Online condolences for the family may be made at www.sechrestdavisphillipsavenue.com