On July 1, LeTourneau Inc. will make a big change in personnel. The man who brought the jack-up drill rig maker back to Vicksburg is retiring.

Donald M. Cross, 69, vice president and general manager of the Vicksburg marine operation of the Rowan Inc.-owned company, will end the career he started upon college graduation. Taking his place at the helm of the local LeTourneau operation will be Mike Gray.

Cross is a native of Meridian and went to work with the then R.G. LeTourneau Co., following his graduation from Mississippi College with a degree in mathematics.

“I came into the engineering department,” Cross said. Over the years, he rose in the company ranks ‘ serving as assistant chief of engineering, chief of engineering, vice president of engineering, vice president of engineering and operations, vice president of sales and service, vice president, director and director of sales in Longview, Texas, before taking the job from which he is retiring June 30.

In addition to his work with LeTourneau, Cross served 14 years in the Mississippi House of Representatives.

Virtually all of Cross’ career has been spent in Vicksburg, but when its then parent company, Marathon, closed LeTourneau in June 1992, Cross moved to Longview and the company’s operation there. He returned to Vicksburg in June 1995 after Rowan Inc. bought the LeTourneau operation from Marathon and resumed building its signature jackup drill rigs.

Cross said some of the most interesting time he has spent with LeTourneau was when he was involved with the repair of existing rigs. That assignment allowed him to travel to exotic destinations around the world, he said.

The most gratifying part of his career, he said, is doing a job he enjoys.

“It is nice to get up every morning and enjoy going to work every day,” Cross said.

That even applied to his three years in Longview, which he described as “not the most pleasant.”

After he retires, Cross will have a two-year contract with LeTourneau as a consultant.

“It will be just a minimum number of hours a month,” he said.

After that, it will be time for himself and his wife, Frances, their two grown children and, of course, the three grandchildren and two step-grandchildren.

“I like to hunt and fish, although I don’t want to shoot deer anymore,” he said. “But I do like to take my children and grandchildren.”

There is a little travel on the schedule, including trips to a cabin the Crosses own in Wisconsin. But international travel is not likely in the cards.

“I am about traveled out with work. I plan to stay close to home,” he said.

And there will be a lot to do at home. Cross and his wife are just finishing construction on a new home on five acres of land they recently bought from the company. The electricity was just turned on at the new house and painters are just completing their work.

In addition to moving soon, Cross will have a yard to get in order and the large garden he plants annually will have to be tended.

“I love to garden,” he said.

Cross’s successor is a veteran employee of Rowan and LeTourneau with 21 years of service.

Gray started out as a roustabout on drill rigs and worked his way up to offshore installation manager, running a drill rig.

He came back to shore after six years. He came to the Vicksburg operation five years ago as project manager for Rowan on building its new rigs.

As of July 1, he will be vice president and general manager of the Vicksburg operation.