David Leslie Cross, 86, of Garden City, Idaho, formerly of Centralia, passed away June 29, 2023 at his home. He was born December 21, 1936 in Centralia, Illinois to Leslie and Emilie (Dueker) Cross. He married Arleen Unverfehrt on February 8, 1959, in Hoyleton, Illinois, and she survives. He was preceded in death by his parents, and a sister, Donna.
He attended Trinity Lutheran School, Centralia High School and Centralia Junior College, all in Centralia, Illinois.
He served in the US Army Reserves for six years in Intelligence and the Signal Corps. He was employed at Siegler Heater in Centralia, and Norge in Effingham, Illinois in the engineering department. In 1966 he became a State Farm Insurance agent and served for 31 years in Centralia until his retirement in 1997.
After retirement David and Arleen spent their winters in Harlingen, Texas, and lived full-time in their RV for over ten years, spending winters in Texas and summers in Illinois at Carlyle Lake and Idaho and traveling throughout the United States. They moved to the Boise, Idaho area in 2014 and enjoyed spending time with their granddaughters.
While in Centralia, he was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church, where he served as co-chair of the building program for the addition to the school and church. In Idaho, he was a member of Friendship Celebration Lutheran Church in Meridian, Idaho.
He enjoyed camping, spending most summer weekends camping with his family, fishing, hunting, and woodworking. He won awards for woodcarving and making segmented wood bowls while wintering in Texas.
He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Arleen; a daughter Susan Cross of Brookfield, Illinois, a son Steve of Boise, Idaho, and granddaughters Keeley and Ellie Cross of Boise, his sister Dolores Cross of Centralia, sister-in-law Alice Wiese of Washington, Illinois, a niece and two nephews.
A private graveside service will be held Friday, July 7 in Boise, Idaho, and a Celebration of Life service will be held Saturday, July 8 at 11:30 a.m. at Friendship Celebration Lutheran Church in Meridian, Idaho. Memorials may be made to Trinity Lutheran Church in Centralia, Illinois, Friendship Celebration Lutheran Church in Meridian, Idaho, Kuna Lutheran Church, Kuna, Idaho, or a charity of the donor’s choice.