Thomas Cross, a 1954 DHS graduate, was a four-year member of the DHS Beta Club, Trojan basketball and football, the latter where he served as captain of the 1953 Big Ten Championship team. He was also the DHS Boys State delegate in 1952.Following graduation, Cross attended Georgia Tech and was part of the Co-op Program. In 1955, he attended Bethel University and graduated in June 1958 with a degree in mathematics and chemistry. He also married his high school sweetheart, Lillian Yarbro Cross, in 1958. The couple has 3 children and 7 grandchildren.He returned to DHS in the fall of 1958 where he was a teacher and coach.In 1963, he received his Master’s Degree in Mathematics and Physics from Mississippi State University.From 1961-1966, Cross taught Math and Physics at DHS. He was awarded with Teacher of the Year at DHS in 1963 and named the Jaycees Outstanding Young Educator in 1966.In June of 1966, Cross moved to Ridgely to become the principal of the new Lara Kendall Elementary-Lake County Junior High School. He returned to DHS in the fall of 1967 to become the assistant principal, which he served for 3 years. Cross then became principal of DHS in 1970.In 1986, he moved to the city schools’ central office as a staff member, where he remained until his retirement in 1991.Throughout the years, Cross also served as a manager of city pools and recreation, a TSSAA basketball official, chairman during the final 2 years of the Big Ten football conference, as well as sports editor and circulation manager for the New Mirror weekly newspaper.Since retirement, Cross has managed his farming interests.