Michael Benjamin Gross passed away on Oct. 31 from Alzheimer’s disease. He was nearly 80 years old at the time of his death and is survived by his wife, Shelley Singer, his children, Sarah and Alex, his stepsons, Aaron and Josh, and 10 grandchildren. He is also survived by his two siblings, Susan Dienelt and John Gross.
He was born in Harlingen, Texas, in 1944 on a U.S. Army base, where his father, Bernard J. Gross, and mother, Judith Bazelon Gross, were stationed during the Second World War. After the war ended, his family moved to Chicago, Illinois. He graduated from New Trier High School in Winnetka in 1962 and attended the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where he majored in economics.
After graduating in 1966, he moved to New York, where he attended New York University Law School, graduating in 1969 as an editor of the Law Review. Soon thereafter, he moved to Washington, D.C., to clerk for federal judge Hon. William B. Bryant, U.S. District Court, the District of Columbia. After that, he accepted a position at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where he worked on a legal suit related to environment damage to the waters of Lake Superior. Several years later, he left federal government service and became a founding partner at the law firm of Grove, Engelberg & Gross. After a successful career there, he left the practice of law to found Advantage Properties, an entrepreneurial real estate development firm in Bethesda, Maryland.
Gross was also a painter and printmaker for most of his life. His work was shown in many solo and group exhibitions, culminating in a solo show at the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center in Washington, D.C., in 2015. He was a talented golfer and, in earlier years, was the president of the American Jewish Committee of Washington, D.C. He also served on the board of the Pyramid Atlantic Art Center.
He was a loving husband and proud parent to his children and grandchildren. He lived a wonderful life and will be missed by many people. Memorial contributions in Michael’s name may be made to a charity of your choice.
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