Duane Ollie Cross

In Loving Memory of Duane O. Cross

Duane O. Cross was called to rest on December 28, 2025. He was born on December 2, 1929, in Lansing, Michigan, to Ollie B. and Lucille Cross. Duane was the eldest of four children and had three sisters: June, Barbara, and Mary.

As a boy, Duane loved all kinds of sports and excelled in both basketball and baseball, with baseball being his true passion. Alongside sports, he cherished time spent at the family's vacation lake house in Woodland Park, Michigan, which he helped his father build in 1947. Duane spent as much time there as possible, playing for the Woodland Park baseball team as a teenager. He loved fishing and swimming and was among the first to water ski on Woodland Lake.

Early in life, Duane became an amateur radio operator, a pursuit that required mastery of Morse code. He generously shared this skill by teaching visually impaired students at the Michigan School for the Blind when he was a young man.

In his early adult years, Duane joined his father in the family construction business, Ollie Cross and Son. At the age of twenty-five, he married Helen Morgan. Together, they raised three children: Dianna, Darlene, and Daniel, and were devoted parents.

Following the passing of his mother in 1961, his father remarried a wonderful woman named Isabell. Through this marriage, Duane gained five step-siblings-Shirly, Jack, Faye, Norma, and Marian-who became part of his extended family.

Duane later worked for the City of Lansing as a building inspector before transitioning into a successful career as a general contractor, building apartment complexes throughout Lansing. His work attracted the attention of a company in Cincinnati, which offered him an opportunity that led him to relocate his family to the Woodlawn area in Cincinnati. There, he served as general manager, overseeing the construction of apartment complexes throughout Cincinnati.

Living in Cincinnati sparked another great love in Duane's life-the Cincinnati Reds. He watched as many games as he could. Although the journey became longer, he continued for many years to return to the family cottage in Woodland Park, savoring the peace of the woods and lake, reflecting on his youth and the days he spent there.

After the dissolution of his first marriage, Duane married Elizabeth, with whom he welcomed another son, Dillon. He went on to work for the City of Cincinnati as a building inspector. Upon retirement from the city, Duane moved to Loveland, Ohio, where he became the building inspector for the City of Loveland.

After his second marriage ended, Duane reconnected with his childhood sweetheart, Josephine Jefferson. They shared a long-distance relationship for more than twenty years until her recent passing. In his later years, Carlos welcomed Duane to his home in Glendale, Ohio to live with him and his oldest daughter Dianna, where Duane spent his final years.

Duane lived to be ninety-six years young.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Ollie B. and Lucille Cross; his sisters June and Mary; his step-sisters Shirley and Norma; and his step-brother Jack.

He is survived by his sister Barbara; his step-sisters Faye and Marian; his four loving children, Dianna, Darlene, Dan, and Dillon; his grandchildren, Latese, Jamin, and Nicholas; his cousins Felicia, Regina, Esperanza, and Larry; and his many nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, and neighbors.

No funeral or memorial service is immediately planned. The family will notify loved ones in the future when a service is scheduled.

We invite you to take a few moments to share fond memories and words of comfort and condolence with the Cross family. Please click the "Tribute Wall" icon above and to the right, enter the information, and click "Save Post."

Walker Funeral Home and Crematory is caring for the Cross family during this difficult time. Please call 513.251.6200 or visit www.HerbWalker.com for additional information.