Irwin Christopher Gross, Jr.

Irwin Christopher Gross, Jr., 89, of Kingsport, died Sunday morning, August 11, 2024, at home peacefully after coping with Parkinson’s Disease for the last 5 years. Born in Oak Park, IL, he was a graduate of Oak Park and River Forest High School ‘52, M.I.T. ‘56, and Wharton School of Business. Irwin was married in 1962 to his wife, Ann Devine, in Belmont, MA. They raised three children. Irwin retired in December of 1993 from the McGraw-Hill Information Systems Company, NYC where he was Sales Manager for Sweet’s Division Catalog File, published for Architects. In 1978, Irwin became vice-president of product planning, Sweet’s Division.

After his retirement, Irwin and Ann moved to Pensacola, FL, for 26 years enjoying their family visits and extensive world travel. Irwin was an Elder at Trinity Presbyterian Church, Pensacola. Moving to Kingsport in 2020 was precipitated by a diagnosis of Parkinson’s and a need for family support with their oldest daughter and family. 

Amedisys Home Healthcare provided needed medical services, and a recent diagnosis of lung cancer moved us into Amedisys Hospice, and a peaceful passing.

He is survived by his wife, Ann Gross; two daughters, Jennifer Feathers of Kingsport and Carolyn Gross of Battleground, WA; son, Robert Gross of Marietta, GA; Jennifer and Bob Feathers have Irwin’s two granddaughters, Lauren and Rebecca, and Robert and Veronica have Irwin’s two grandsons, Dylan and Colin; sister, Elizabeth Mull of Oak Park; and brother, Frederick Gross and wife Bernadette of Rolling Meadow, IL.

At Irwin’s request, there will be no formal service.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, Grand Central station P.O. Box 4777, New York, NY, 10163, or donate online at www.michaeljfox.org