An accomplished businessman and entrepreneur, devoted husband and father and loyal u supporter of several worthy organizations and causes.  A great friend to his fraternity and  friend of my dad and mom.  Rest In Peace 

The entire Post family is saddened by the loss of a most wonderful neighbor and great friend.  Growing up across the street with kids all the same ages brought us great times and memories together with you all.  Cruse  and Ginny were the gold standard for style and grace, and I am so honored to have been a recipient from Cruse of some of his amazing pocket squares!  I will wear them proudly and think of Cruse often.  Sending prayers of peace to you all.

The last time Cruse visited in what we laughingly call “The Ancestral Home” in Kentucky, he left behind a pair of well-worn tennis shoes. 

“Just toss these,” he said.

And he had a point. The sneakers were worn thin on sides and soles, because they’d seen a lot of action—most recently exploring the house his great-grandfather built and trekking the fields and creeks that were a part of his past and mine as well.

For a long time, the shoes stayed in the closet, partly because they were so quintessentially Cruse.  They were not flashy Nikes, or high-end Mephistos, just vintage off-white lace-ups, made of authentic cotton canvas and powdered with dust of the road.  

The Cruse I knew was not an engineer, an innovator, a chairman of the board.  He was someone who loved my mother’s homemade bread, corn on the cob, and Kentucky barbecue.  He was a listener,  someone who was endlessly fascinated by family lines and fence rows.  

In the last few years we spoke regularly on the phone.  So, I’ll close by saying how much I will miss his voice: distinctive, dignified, and with a trace of phrasing that was rooted in the South.  I’ll miss his easy laugh, and the way, when considering a word or expression I had used, he would often play my own words back to me, affirming his agreement. I will miss his devotion to March Madness, his teams and mine, and the way I could count on his sympathy if a Kentucky team was upset or eliminated early in the tournament.

The tennis shoes were finally moved from the closet. Maybe they were discarded or stored away in an attic box.  That doesn’t matter, because I still have Cruse.  He exists in my mind as the last of a line, the keeper of tradition, the irreplaceable and un-lose-able part of the puzzle that makes up family.

He wanted to keep in touch.  And we will.


Dear Ginnie
     Our condolences on the loss of Cruse. You two have been part of my life from our first meeting in Kyoto through all our joint efforts for the Stearns Collection. I also treasure memorie of many Japanese lunches with Cruse. Let us continue to share memories and meet soon. Please send me your phone number.  Love Bill and Jutta Malm

Cruse will always be in our hearts and memories.  Character, grace, style, humor, dignity - he and Ginny were the center of so many good things in Ann Arbor and beyond.  Our hearts ache for Ginny, his family and friends - 
Ron, Eileen & Danny

He was a great man! Compassionate and strong as an ox to the very end! I feel as if I inherited many of his compassionate feelings towards others, helping those who needed help, while never blinking an eye! I love you Dad, and if I can be half the man you ever were, I will die a happy soul!!
 I still get questions to this day: "why are you helping this person?"and my answer is the same as my father's "let's see, because they need it?"
 Thank you Dad: for everything you did for me, instilling in Me the drive to succeed, hard work, compassion for others, and being fair to others in all your dealing both in personal interactions and business.
 My favorite quote of his, which I try to live up to every day is: "we are all in business to make money, but we're not in business to make enemies"

 Goodbye Dad, I love you and Jesus right by your side until the end of time!

Picture (in Clinton KY) at the headstone of Henry Cruse Watson. Dad's maternal grandmother's father. He was a Captain in CSA Cavalry. He had his horse taken from him in New Orleans  and WALKED home, built a house (now the county museum) bought a farm and started a bank. The bank is still operating!   

The It’s a Wonderful Life community and the world lost an amazing man. I had the true pleasure of calling this man my friend . I grew up without a strong father figure in my life . Cruse Moss was everything I envisioned a man to be . Strong , smart , compassionate , a gentleman always , deeply loyal and insanely in love with his bride of 69 years . Mrs Virginia Patton Moss .
As sad as I am in the loss , I have no words to console Ginny .
When you spoke to Cruse , you knew you were in the presence of royalty . He will always serve as my example of what can be accomplished when dignity and love are your guiding force . May I grow to be half the man he was ,Sleep well my friend 


Richard Goodson

Cruse was my first cousin, although he was enough older than me that, as a child, I thought of him more as an uncle.  I have fond memories of family Thanksgivings at the house of his parents, my aunt and uncle.  I was so sorry to learn of his passing. Ginny, Cari, and Michael, Keith and I feel for you in your loss and are praying for you.

I've known Cruse for nearly 50 years and we seemed to click as friends from the first time we met.  I was a new employee at Ohio University and we both were alumni of the same university, Ohio U.  He gave me valuable advice which I found extremely helpful in my career of over 30 years at the University. These past several years we communicated more frequently via the telephone, often weekly and sometimes more.  Cruse was always upbeat, positive, and forward thinking with his life, career, and especially, in behalf of his love, wife Ginny, and for his family.  His passing is very sad and difficult to accept.  However, his life was extraordinarily full and his legacy will continue through his family and friends, who were touched and inspired by his strong faith and abundant sense of humanity.

OBITUARY

Cruse Watson Moss

April 7, 1926 – August 21, 2018

Muehlig Funeral Chapel

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