1982-1986

TFie second Time Around Retirement years never dull for Nellie Cros.s By OVID VICKERS

Nellie Neil had already walked along the Champs Elysses, cruised on the Mediter– ranean, attended school in Switzerland, appeared in an opera as a Russian Cossack, crossed the Atlantic with Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt and dated the film star Eddie Albert. Oh! and one more thing, the proposal was being made by a young man who at that time was East Central's most eligi– ble bachelor, Mr. Frank Cross. (Mr. Cross is now 81 and this remarkable man continues to ride a bicycle, plant and work a garden, tend and prune a large vineyard, and play an occasional game of tennis.) In the fifty-two years that she has liv– ed in Decatur, Mrs. Cross has been very active in civic, school, and church work. She is a past president of the District IV General Federation of Women's Clubs, and has held local, district, and con– ference offices in the United Methodist Women. When her daughter Corinne was in high school, Mrs. Cross returned to work and was for a number of years the manager of the student center at East Central. In more recent years, she has taught in the Meridian and Newton County school systems. At present, although she is retired, she substitutes in the Decatur schools, which proves the old adage, "Once a teacher, always a teacher." As a singer, Mrs. Cross continues to be well known throughout East Central Mississippi. As someone once remark– ed about Lillie Ponds, when that great singer had passed her middle years, "The voice is still strong although the range is not as great as it once was." The same statement could be applied to Miss Nellie. When I asked Mrs. Cross if, after traveling to so many different places and doing so many different things, she hadn't found life in Decatur a little dull, her reply was, "No, not at all. You see, Frank is here with me and we have been together for almost fifty years." The next time you go to a wedding and Nellie Neill Cross rises from among the potted palms to render "Because" or "I Love You Truly," just remember she has been singing in public for over half a century. That, I believe, is some kind of a record in anybody's book.

Magazines frequently carry articles that offer suggestions on how retired people can fill their days with interesting projects and activities. These articles are written for those who are unable to ad– just to retirement; they are not for my friend Nellie Cross. If "Miss Nellie," who has been retired for some time from the teaching profession, is not singing in a wedding, she is baking a cake. If she isn't substitute teaching, she's working on a geneaology project. She always has several irons in the fire, and if .you do not want her candid opinion, then do not ask her to share her thoughts with you. Nellie Neill Cross was born in Jackson, Mississippi, grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, and spent her early teens in Europe where her father, the Reverend J . L. Neill, was sent by the Methodist Church to found a seminary in Prague, Czechoslovakia, and to act as superintendent of all mission work for the church in central Europe. After returning from Europe and after graduating from All Saints High School in Vicksburg, Mrs. Cross attended Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia, and was graduated from the Cincinnati Conservatory in Music with a major in voice. While attending the Cincinnati Conservatory, Mrs. Cross appeared in numerous concerts and recitals. In Mississippi she has toured as soloist with the University of Southern Mississippi choir, sung with the Meridian Choral Society, and appeared as guest soloist with the Jackson Symphony. In 1932, Miss Nellie was employed by Dr. L.O. Todd to teach music and French and to direct the choir at East Central Junior College. Mrs. Cross and I rec~ntly judged one of the events held during Union's Sesquicentennial celebra– tion; and while engaged in conversation with Dubb McMahen, one of her former students, the two of them exchang~ some comments in French. I decided then that Miss Nellie must have been '.a pretty good French teacher because Mr. McMahen was in her class in 1937. Most women dream of being propos– ed to over a candlelight supper or at the end of a ·moonlight walk, but Miss Nellie was proposed to, of all places, on the way to the wash-woman's house. This, however, didn't really matter because, vou see, at the time of the proposal,

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