Mr. Arthur John Tross, 91, husband of Eleanor Whalen Tross and a resident of Pungoteague, passed away Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, surrounded by his loved ones.
A native of Susquehanna, Pa., he was born July 27, 1933, to the late Arthur Lewis Tross and the late Carolyn Wintringer Tross. Art from childhood loved and developed an encyclopedic knowledge of the history and running of railroads in the United States.
He was an auditor, researcher, and controller of railroads and a Korean War Army veteran. He graduated from the University of Buffalo and earned an MBA from Temple University. He was a CPA and while in Buffalo worked for the Erie Railroad as a towerman. He retired from the Eastern Shore Railroad in 1995 as a controller. He had an extensive collection of H0 equipment, books, and videos of railroads. He loved music and was active in ACES, Rotary, Cape Charles Historical Society, and the Arts Enter, including being a character actor for 10 years. He also loved being Santa at various schools.
He was a devoted father to Carolyn Tross Kelley and her husband, Robert Jeffery Kelley, and grandfather to Jeffery Arthur Kelley and Katherine Elizabeth Kelley. He is survived by four sisters, Carol Lou Tross, Mary Tross Westfall, Alice Tross Evans, and Patricia Tross Danaher, and numerous nieces and nephews and grand-nieces and grand-nephews. He was predeceased by his beloved brother, Carl A. Tross.
A funeral mass will be held Saturday, Nov. 9, at 11 a.m. at St. Charles Catholic Church with Father J. Michael Breslin officiating. Inurnment will follow in the St. Charles Borromeo Memorial Columbarium. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Charles Catholic Church, 545 Randolph Ave., Cape Charles, VA 23310 or Arts Enter, 301 Mason Ave., Cape Charles, VA 23310.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.doughtyfuneralhome.com
Arrangements were made by Doughty Funeral Home in Exmore.
