John F. Cross, Ph.D.: 1932-2025

John F. Cross, Ph.D.: 1932-2025

John F. Cross, Ph.D., professor emeritus of psychology, died Monday, Oct. 27, 2025. He was 93.

Cross was a long-time professor at Saint Louis University as well as an alum, having earned his doctorate from SLU in 1964.

Cross earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy from St. Peter's College in New Jersey in 1954. He joined the Navy and took part in pilot training.

Following his military service, Cross went back to school and earned his master's degree in psychology from Fordham University in 1962. His journey then took him to Saint Louis University, where he earned his doctorate in psychology.

While at SLU, he was a NASA fellow and also worked as the Senior Engineer Psychologist with McDonnell-Douglas. In 1966, he joined the SLU faculty as an assistant professor. He was promoted to associate professor in 1970.

Cross briefly left SLU to serve as the Chairman of the Social Sciences Division at the College of the Virgin Islands, but returned in 1973 to serve as an associate professor of psychology and as assistant academic vice president.

Cross also served as a coordinator of undergraduate psychology programs.

At SLU, Cross directed doctoral dissertations, conducted research, served on academic committees, and delivered many papers at academic conferences. He was a strong advocate of peace studies and supported the award of peace fellowships through his work with the Lenz Foundation. He was a recipient of the Severin Award for his outstanding contributions.

As a professor, his research interests included belief systems, racial cognition, and family influence in social attitude formation. He published numerous articles throughout his career, including some secret work related to his work with NASA and McDonnell Douglas.

He was a member of Sigma Xi, American Psychological Association, Human Factors Society, Missouri Psychological Association, American Association of University Professors and the Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology.

He retired in 2004 with emeritus status.

He is survived by his wife, Jane P. Cross, Ph.D., and four children.