BERTRAM W. GROSS JR.

A retired professor and former chair of the Department of Communication Studies at Marshall University, BERTRAM W. GROSS JR., PH.D., died Thursday in Huntington after a battle with mantle cell lymphoma. He was 75. Bert was born in Pittsburgh, Pa., to Bertram Walter and Isabel Francis Gross, and grew up in Bethlehem, Pa. After a brief flirtation with show business (at the age of five, he appeared on a local radio show in Lincoln, Nebraska, as "Butch the Wonder Kid," showing off his early knowledge of sports trivia), Bert shifted his focus to academia. He earned his bachelor's degree in political science from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., and his master's and Ph.D. in speech/communication studies from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pa. Bert specialized in public speaking and debate/forensics, participating as a debate team member for Lehigh and a graduate adviser for the debate team at Temple. It was in the latter role that he met Kathleen, his wife of fifty years. After stints at Canisius College in Buffalo, NY, and the University of Georgia in Athens, GA, Bert came to Marshall University in 1978 to coach forensics and teach speech and communication. Bert loved teaching and valued the relationships he developed throughout the Marshall community. He enjoyed the challenge of acting as a thesis adviser to many graduate students and worked with freshman Yeager scholars for more than a decade. Bert served as President of the Marshall Faculty Senate and sat on the Board of Trustees of the University System of West Virginia. He was Chairman of the Department of Communication Studies at Marshall from 1997 until his retirement. In April 2004, he received the Marshall University Distinguished Service Award. Bert's support of Marshall extended outside the classroom. He was particularly pleased to witness Marshall's 1992 and 1996 national championships. He will be deeply missed by his wife, Kathleen Strange Gross, and children, David Gross of Portland, Ore., and Elizabeth Gross of Huntington; by his brothers and sister and their spouses, William and Anne Gross of Annandale, Virginia, Barbara and Bob Tommasone of Pittsburgh, Pa., and Gary and Bonnie Gross of Philadelphia, Pa.; by his nieces and nephews, Stephen Tommasone, Douglas Tommasone, Carolyn Mollen, Kevin Gross, Eric Gross, Tim Gross and Brian Gross, and his great-niece, Penelope Mollen. Bert will also be fondly remembered by a host of friends, co-workers, tour directors and bartenders, both locally and around the world. Passionate about music, travel, sports and language, Bert sang both classical and barbershop music for more than forty years. He was a member and president of the Kanawha Kordsmen chorus in Charleston, W.Va., and enjoyed singing with his quartets, Main Attraction and Harmony Lane. Bert was named Barbershopper of the Year by the Kordsmen in 2007. He loved performing with both the chorus and his quartets and always looked forward to delivering Singing Valentines with his fellow Kordsmen. Bert also sang with the West Virginia Symphony Chorus and the Marshall Choral Union. Bert loved to play tennis, participating in numerous local tennis tournaments throughout his life. He enjoyed golfing, playing bridge, reading and rooting for Marshall, Lehigh, Temple, the Phillies, the Eagles and the Flyers. After his retirement, Bert served as a CASA volunteer, working to improve the lives of abused children. Bert enjoyed traveling with his wife and family. In the years since his retirement, Bert traveled to every continent, forty-eight states and more than thirty countries around the world. His adventures included a golfing trip to Ireland with his brothers and, in recent years, destinations as diverse as Egypt, Australia and Norway. A funeral Mass will be held at the Catholic Church of the Ascension in Hurricane, West Virginia, on Tuesday, January 16, 2018, at 11 a.m. with Rev. Fr. Harry N. Cramer. Friends may gather to remember Bert at the church an hour prior to the service. His family has requested no flowers. Bert took a special interest in the work of the Harmony Foundation to keep the world singing and connect people through music. Donations may be made in his name to the Harmony Foundation: https://harmonyfoundation.org/ways-to-give/memorial-giving/ or Harmony Foundation, 110 Seventh Avenue North, Suite 200, Nashville, TN 37203. The family wishes to thank the many neighbors, friends, family members and co-workers who have supported Bert and Kathy during his illness. The family also wishes to extend a very special thanks to the staff of 5 West at Cabell Huntington Hospital and the Huntington Hospice House for their kindness and care for Bert and his family during this very difficult time. Chapman's Mortuary, Huntington, is assisting the family. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.chapmans-mortuary.com.