Kelly Sarah CROSS

May 11, 1982 - March 17, 2024

Our dear Kelly passed away peacefully in Danbury, Connecticut on March 17, 2024. There aren't words to describe how devastated our family is and how incomplete our lives will be without her. We are forever grateful to have been by her side during her final days.

Kelly was born on May 11, 1982, to Shaun and Kathy Cross in Spokane, Washington. Kelly was the eldest of the four Cross kids and often the guiding force behind many of her sisters' and brother's childhood memories and experiences. Whether it was magical summers spent at the family cabin on Hayden Lake or days exploring and playing in the Cannon Hill neighborhood, Kelly's unmatched imagination and wit illuminated our lives, casting a distinct brilliance within our close-knit and loving family. Kelly adored her three younger siblings and spent a great deal of her upbringing engaging them in her unique and niche interests; she choreographed dances, wrote and directed plays, fabricated costumes, designed hair styles, and invented elaborate storylines for them all to enact.

From a young age, Kelly displayed a remarkable intelligence, curiosity, and drive for the things she loved most. She spent many of her weekends and evenings as a devoted student of ballet, attending Ballet Arts Academy until the age of 17. In addition to numerous local performances, Kelly auditioned and was chosen to attend multiple summer dance programs at Oregon Ballet in Portland, the Kirov Ballet in Washington D.C., and the Joffrey Ballet in San Antonio. Throughout her life, ballet remained one of her most enduring passions.

From kindergarten through eighth grade, Kelly attended Cataldo Catholic School, where she formed some of her closest, lifelong friendships. After graduating from Lewis & Clark High School in 2000, Kelly attended the University of Washington, where she graduated with honors from the esteemed Jackson School of International Studies. She was also a member of the Delta Gamma Sorority. Following her time in Seattle, Kelly moved to New York City in 2009. The city quickly became her home, as she fell in love with its vibrant energy, diversity, fashion, museums, art galleries, and architecture. Shortly after her arrival, she met her life partner, Richard Paris, from Brooklyn, New York.

From her professional accomplishments to her extensive travels with Rich, Kelly embraced each day with an indomitable spirit. She relished meeting new people and experiencing new cities, cultures, languages, and niche foods. She opened all our minds to how history, art, political dynasties, society, and style help shape who we are and the world we live in. Her deep index of knowledge was only eclipsed by her natural ease, infectious sparkle, and statuesque presence that guaranteed she would make a lasting impression on everyone she met.

Despite Kelly's strength of will and remarkable spirit, she struggled for most of her adult life with an eating disorder and alcohol addiction. In her final years, she fought hard to achieve her goal of recovery. We are immensely proud of her efforts and deeply admire her strength in embracing life fully and beautifully, despite enduring severe and persistent challenges.

We know that Kelly, through faith in Jesus, is in a very special place where death is no more, and where there is no mourning, nor crying, nor pain, for the former things have passed away.

Kelly is survived by her partner of 15 years, Richard Paris of Greenwich, Connecticut; her parents, Shaun and Kathy Cross of Spokane, Washington; her younger brother, Trevor Cross of Santa Barbara, California; her two younger sisters, Emily Cross of Salt Lake City, Utah and Natalie (Zach) Weber of Spokane, Washington; her aunts, Kathleen Fagan of North Bergen, New Jersey and Dinah Cross James of St. Helena, California; her uncles, John Kelly and Tony Kelly of Santa Barbara, California; and Rich's mother, Martha Paris of Long Island, New York.