Cross, Travis

William Travis Cross was born in Salem, Oregon in March, 1927. Graduating from North Salem High School in 1944, he went to Stanford University to take a Political Science degree, but left in 1945 to join the Navy and fight in World War II. Returning in 1946, he attended Willamette University for two years, then went back to Stanford to complete his Political Science degree in 1949. It was while Cross was studying at Stanford that he met and became friends with Mark Hatfield.

Cross returned to Willamette University in the fall of 1949 to become Director of Information and Alumni Affairs. One year later he moved to Eugene to work as the assistant to the Chancellor of Higher Education, University of Oregon, where he served for seven years.

After Mark Hatfield became Secretary of State, Cross joined his staff, serving in various capacities during Hatfield's two years as Secretary of State and eight years as the Governor of Oregon. Cross was Hatfield’s press agent, chief political adviser, legislative liaison and deputy – to name but a few of his roles during those years.

Cross moved on to private public relations work in 1968 when Hatfield became a United States Senator. Among his clients were George Romney (Governor of Michigan), United States National Bank and the Columbia Broadcasting System. In March, 1969 Cross joined the University of California as Vice President for University Relations, where he served for six years.

Cross and his family moved back to Portland in 1975. For the next seventeen years he worked in public relations at St. Vincent Hospital, retiring in 1992. Cross battled Parkinson’s disease for over 20 years, and died from complications in 2004. He was survived by his wife, Beverly and their three children, Craig, Paul and Sara.

From the guide to the Travis Cross papers, 1950-2004, (Willamette University University Archives and Special Collections)