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Bruce Cross Obituary
Bruce David Cross, 74, of Moncton, NB passed away at the Moncton Hospital on Thursday, February 1, 2024 following a brief illness. Although his family will remember the night differently, for Bruce his final waking hours would put a smile on anyone’s face: hosting his grandson Brooks for a sleepover, enjoying Brooks’ favorite spaghetti dinner and mint chocolate chip ice cream, building block towers, snuggling on the couch watching Paw Patrol on TV, with suitcases nearby being readied for an upcoming trip to Cuba. Not yet retired — one day, may be — Friday nights didn’t get much better.
Born and raised in Toronto, ON he was the son of the late Dorothy Cross and W.E. Hawley Cross, from whom he Inherited a lifelong love of sports. At 19, he turned down an offer to play football for Florida State University; his real passion was golf. Bruce counted himself lucky to have played Glen Abbey, eventually reaching a 2 handicap. Eager to share his love for the game with his son Brad, he signed the two up for tee times at Magnetic Hill Golf Course (now Mountain Woods) when Brad was 5 years old. Together they spent many summer days on the golf course. It filled Bruce with pride to watch Brad’s game soar and receive pictures of Brad taken at Swilcan Bridge at St Andrews.
Bruce fell into the pool industry in his late teens. He later joined Jacuzzi Canada as a regional manager and travelled the country in the role. An intrepid entrepreneur, Bruce opened Waterworks Pools and Spas in Moncton in 1986 which he continued to operate with no intention of slowing down. Over the years, Bruce took Waterworks from humble beginnings in a small shop on Collishaw Street with only one employee building it into a multi-award-winning family business with thirty full-time employees and a 10,000 square foot show room on Killam Drive. He mentored countless student workers into their respective trades and was a constant fixture in the store, knowing hundreds of customers by name (and pool size).
Over a thirty-year sports career, he coached in or managed nearly every league of basketball and baseball in Greater Moncton, including among others Team New Brunswick baseball, Harrison Trimble High School basketball (both boys and girls), the Moncton Mud Cats, and Birchmount School. He served as president of the Moncton Kiwanis Minor Basketball Association, doubling the enrollment from 500 to 1000 players during his tenure. He also served as president of the Hoop Classic, which became one of the premiere high school basketball tournaments in Canada. Many of those players went onto summer jobs with the famous Waterworks pool cleaning crew.
Besides his family and Waterworks, Bruce’s greatest pleasure in life was his yearly trip to Cuba with Nancy, where he enjoyed sitting under a cabana in the sun with a Cuba Libre in hand. Making up for lost time after Covid grounded them, Bruce and Nancy upped their annual trip to two visits per year to their beloved home-away-from-home and looked forward to visiting later this month, when they would reunite with Cuban friends who had become like family.
He is survived by Nancy, his wife of 44 years, son Brad (Meghan) of Moncton, stepson R. Andrew Holt, brother Donald Cross and nephew Kevin Cross all of Calgary, AB, brother-in-law Roger (Patti) Hamilton of East Aurora, NY, and treasured grandson Brooks Cross of Moncton.
Visitation will be held at Fergusons Funeral Home, 1657 Mountain Road, Moncton (506-858-1995) on Sunday, February 4 from 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m., with a funeral service on Monday, February 5 at 1:30 p.m at Fergusons Funeral Home Chapel. Memorial donations to PAWS Moncton or the charity of the donor’s choice in Bruce’s name would be appreciated by the family.
Online condolences for the family can be shared on Fergusons Funeral Home Facebook Page or at www.fergusonsfuneralhome.com
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February 1 2024
Death notice for the town of: Moncton, Province: Nouveau-Brunswick
death notice Bruce Cross February 1 2024
obituaries notice Bruce Cross February 1 2024
We offer our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Bruce Cross February 1 2024 and hope that their memory may be a source of comfort during this difficult time. Your thoughts and kind words are greatly appreciated.
