Man Behind Aurora's 'Crosses For Losses' Set To Retire

AURORA, IL — In the past 20 years, Greg Zanis has hand made more than 27,000 crosses, driven hundreds of thousands of miles, and become something of an icon for his work memorializing victims of violence. Zanis, who has his home and workshop in Aurora, is set to retire, his daughter, Susie, said in a post on the Facebook group "What's Happening In Aurora, IL?" Thursday.

Zanis has made crosses for victims of mass shootings and other tragedies starting with the Columbine High School shooting in 1999 to this year's mass shooting right in his hometown.

Susie Zanis wrote, "My dad Greg Zanis will no longer be doing his ministry Crosses For Losses. He will be retiring. He asked me to thank everyone for their support."

She went on to explain that running Crosses for Losses hasn't always been easy for Zanis, 69. In just one week in 2019, he personally delivered handmade crosses for shooting victims in Dayton, Ohio, before heading to do the same in El Paso, Texas.

2019 was also the year that Zanis made and placed crosses in his hometown of Aurora following the mass shooting at Henry Pratt Manufacturing on Feb. 15.

Zanis made his first cross in 1996 after his father-in-law was found murdered, according to the Crosses for Losses website. In 2018, Zanis put up the original crosses from the Columbine massacre to commemorate its anniversary. At that time, he told Patch he still communicates with several of the victims' families.

Susie Zanis wrote that running Crosses for Losses has "taken a huge toll on our family, from missing my dad and worrying about him while he was away to the financial burden it caused on our family."

Susie added that she is "extremely proud of him for following his heart but I am more proud of him for realizing it is time for him to take a break and focus on himself."

Here's wishing Greg a peaceful and happy retirement.