William 'Bill' Thomas Gross' Obituary
William “Bill” Thomas Gross, 82, peacefully passed away on Wednesday, May 23, 2018. Graveside Services will be held on Tuesday, May 29, 2018, at 2:00 p.m., in The Pavilion at Andersonville National Cemetery in Andersonville, Georgia with Full Military Honors.
Bill was born in Griffin, Indiana, on December 20, 1935, to Raymond Clyde and Mary Ellen Fuller Gross. He met and married the love of his life, Shirley Mae Knowles, and they were married for sixty-two years until she passed away in December 2017. Bill proudly served as a member of the United States Air Force through the Korean War, Vietnam, and in Beirut. During his twenty- year military career, he was a Prisoner Of War in the Congo, he was honored with a Purple Heart, a Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal, and a Presidential Citation. Bill worked in Aircraft Maintenance at Robins Air Force Base. Upon his retirement from active duty military service, he spent sixteen years working in maintenance at Pabst Brewing Company which became G. Heileman Brewing Company. Mr. Gross was a Mason, a Shriner, and was a member of the Disabled American Veterans. Along with his wife, Shirley, he was preceded in death by his parents.
Left to cherish the memories they shared with Bill are his daughter, Dr. Terry Manning (Philip) of Warner Robins; his grandchildren, Lauren Manning and Captain Evan Manning, M.D. (Catherine); his brother, John Sullivan (Kim) of Opp, Alabama, and his sister, Elaine Stoker (George) of Lebanon, Tennessee.
Condolences for the family may be left in the online guestbook at www.watsonhunt.com.
Watson-Hunt Funeral Home has been entrusted with the arrangements.
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