JOSEPH E."J.E." CROSS

Joe was born on 6 March 1933 to his parents Jiley and Pearl (Lila) Cross in Iron City, Seminole County Georgia. JE was one of nine children and kind of the runt of the family. When asked about his life while growing up he sees it as pretty normal for a boy growing up in Georgia. Went to school, played sports, went fishing and some times got in trouble with his mom. For Joe he likes to refer to his life really beginning when he entered the Army on 2 July 1953. JE was always a young man that knew what he wanted and did whatever it took to get it. Joe began his indoctrination and Army training at Fort Campbell Kentucky. While there he received his initial training as an Airborne parachutist. This training came with a cost as he seriously injured his left wrist along with several other minor injuries. Three years latter, in January 1956 Joe was sent overseas to Munich Germany. It was there that on 22 Oct 1958 he saw the girl of his dreams, Isolde Marie Hobelsberger. Isolde and several of her friends were attending a dance competition at one of the local clubs Joe frequented. Joe was determined to meet Isolde so he asked another girl, Rose who he discovered, just happened to be a mutual friend of Isolde and of Isolde’s mother, to make the introduction. To his surprise Isolde agreed to formally meet him at her home the very next day. Joe managed to charm the whole family, as specially the grandmother, who became his ally and totally supported him courting Isolde. Over the next year and a half Joe managed to convince young Isolde to leave her very influential and financially successful family to become the wife of an Army soldier from Georgia. On 6 May 1960 Isolde Marie Hobelsberger became Mrs Joeseph E Cross. This joyful day was followed by another when, just nine months latter, on 21 Feb 1961 Isolde gave birth to their baby girl Yvonne. Joe’s career was accelerating at a rapid pace. In 1962 he was selected to return to the US and attend Officer Candidate School at Fort Sill Oklahoma. Of course this meant that he had to leave his young wife back in Germany with her family. While attending OCS and completing Artillery School he reinjured his hand which resulted in him quitting OCS and heading to Fort Bragg NC. On his way there he stopped in Columbus Ga to visit his sister and while there he was recrutedto become an Advanced Airborne instructor at Fort Benning Georgia. Somehow during all his adventures he and Isolde still managed to find time to have a second child, David who was born on October 24 1964 During his time in Fort Benning he moved back and forth between there and Viet Nam where he served two tours. It was following his second tour that Joe again worked his magic and managed to secure orders back to Berlin Germany. In 1972 the Army tried once again to reassign him to Fort Bragg and again he got the orders changed to Benning Ga. Here he remained until his retirement as the Sergeant Major for the Airborne Department of the Army. As a civilian Joe was considering a special duty assignment to Saudi Arabia. However the Post Commander offered him a job in Destin Florida to oversee the reworking/rebuilding of the Army recreational area located there. When Isolde heard this she said,k take it. It took Joe twelve years to complete this job and allowed he and Isolde to discover America together. Life was great until in 2010, the year they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary that Isolde was diagnosed with Cancer for the first time. Over the next many years Isolde was successfully fighting back cancer as it attacked several areas of her body. Like Joe, Isolde was a fighter who never gave up and never complained until her body could no longer win her battles. Joe’s wife and sole mate of 56 years and two months died on 23 July 2016. Joe’s world was shattered. His friends have moved on, his son has passed and now his wife. Joe takes every day, as one day at a time. Soldiering on until he is again reunited with his girl, son and friends. Joseph Edward “JE” Cross, age 88, of Destin, FL passed away Monday, Nov. 1, 2021 at his residence. A graveside memorial service will be held on Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021 at 11:00 AM at Friendship Cemetery. Mr. Cross was born in Iron City, GA on March 6, 1933 to Jiley Mack and Pearl Lila Brockett Cross. He retired from the US Army as the Sergeant Major for the Airborne Department of the Army. He leaves to cherish his memory, his daughter, Yvonne Ring of Destin, FL; his sister, Beatrice Widner of Colquitt, GA and numerous nieces and nephews. Mr. Cross was preceded in death by his parents, Jiley Mack and Pearl Lila Brockett Cross; his wife, Isolde Cross; his son, David Elroy Cross; three brothers, Ralph Cross, Bazel Eugene Cross, Jr., and Mack Cross; and six sisters, Louise Jenkisson, Beulah Frasier Baker, Jessie “Sis” Ingram, Margie Covington, Clara Wiggins, and Earnestine Brazelton. Evans-Skipper Funeral Home has been entrusted with the arrangements.