Memories of Mr. Charles "Dalton Cross" Edward Long

In memory of

Mr. Charles "Dalton Cross" Edward Long

Conroe, TX

October 21, 1961 - September 17, 2025

Oct 21, 1961 - Sep 17, 2025

Help keep everyone in the know by sharing this memorial website.

Share

Story

Condolence

Year (Optional)

Location (Optional)

Caption

YouTube/Facebook/Vimeo Link

Caption

Who is in this photo?

Or start with a template for inspiration

About you

What was your relationship to Dalton Cross?

Cancel

By posting this memory, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Notice.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Caitlin Hale

2022, Willis, TX, USA

He stood up for me and my ex husband when a man in his home made racist comments

Read More Read Less

Comments:

Joshua Long

I am his oldest legitimate son, Joshua Long. I have a younger brother Jeremiah for reasons beyond me my biological father Charles hid us from the world. He married my mother Brenda in 1987, in 1988 they had me.

This man was not a God-fearing man, this man had a trashcan for a mouth, he was a batterer, he was a drunk and a pill head.

I see extremely old photos of him in the music industry, he was beyond obsessed with this part of his life. How do I know? Because as soon as I turned 18, he stepped into my life. I kid you not.

I was beyond excited to finally meet him, because he kept his distance my entire life, never paid child support, never did anything to support me or my little brother in any way shape or form.

Try me on this, I’ll take a DNA test, better yet you don’t have to, all you need to do is see me, I look like his clone.

We spoke routinely for a two-year run, at which point I finally broke it off. Because I was tired of him, trying to take advantage of me every single day.

He and my mother, Brenda were legitimately married, she took me and ran to save my life as a baby, he beat her nearly to death two or three times a week when he would come home from his beloved life of singing in bars, he would come home, toasted on pills, smelling like alcohol and would beat her nearly to death.

One night was the final straw when he started Yelling at her about me not being his son, he was guilty, because he cheated on her every single night.

So to keep him from killing me, she ran.

They tried to get back together, because my mother loved him out of her mind and always spoke about getting back together with him. They tried it a year later, and that’s how she became pregnant with my little brother Jeremiah.

They were legally married for 15 straight years.

I still remember the day he came by the section 8 apartments me my little brother and my mother were staying in, he was so proud of a tape that he had recorded and he wanted to give it to me and my brother to remember him by.

I was about five years old, to this day I still remember him taking a magic marker out of my toy box and using it to scratch out a woman’s name… “ Maddie”. You could still see the name a little bit through the magic marker, but he smashed my magic marker completely flat, trying to wipe her name off of it.

He was a horrible person, the abominations that would dump out of his trashcan Mouth were disgusting. The way He would use God and the Bible as justification for things, I did not think were possible for a human to come up with.

This is his legacy he left behind, and this is my memory of them. We met face-to-face for the first time one day, I wanted to give him something, he wanted to give me something. On that day, we both found out that we were both Knife makers and leather workers, and we exchanged our knives we both had made for each other.

I carried his knife for years, he took my knife home and threw my handmade sheath in the scrap bin to make his own sheath.

Me and my little brother were so much better off without this animal

He lived for himself, only for himself. The woman, he lived a majority of his life with, was there, for reasons beyond me.

He actually had more than five children, me, and my brother can tell you that. So I’m clearing out this webpage from my browser and moving on. I’m moving on with my life, because all I ever wanted was this man to be my father, and he refused. Today, I am a father, I am a leader, I am a husband, I am everything I wanted him to be…. I Am breaking his wretched cycle.

I am his oldest legitimate son, Joshua Long. I have a younger brother Jeremiah for reasons beyond me my biological... Read more father Charles hid us from the world. He married my mother Brenda in 1987, in 1988 they had me.

This man was not a God-fearing man, this man had a trashcan for a mouth, he was a batterer, he was a drunk and a pill head.

I see extremely old photos of him in the music industry, he was beyond obsessed with this part of his life. How do I know? Because as soon as I turned 18, he stepped into my life. I kid you not.

I was beyond excited to finally meet him, because he kept his distance my entire life, never paid child support, never did anything to support me or my little brother in any way shape or form.

Try me on this, I’ll take a DNA test, better yet you don’t have to, all you need to do is see me, I look like his clone.

We spoke routinely for a two-year run, at which point I finally broke it off. Because I was tired of him, trying to take advantage of me every single day.

He and my mother, Brenda were legitimately married, she took me and ran to save my life as a baby, he beat her nearly to death two or three times a week when he would come home from his beloved life of singing in bars, he would come home, toasted on pills, smelling like alcohol and would beat her nearly to death.

One night was the final straw when he started Yelling at her about me not being his son, he was guilty, because he cheated on her every single night.

So to keep him from killing me, she ran.

They tried to get back together, because my mother loved him out of her mind and always spoke about getting back together with him. They tried it a year later, and that’s how she became pregnant with my little brother Jeremiah.

They were legally married for 15 straight years.

I still remember the day he came by the section 8 apartments me my little brother and my mother were staying in, he was so proud of a tape that he had recorded and he wanted to give it to me and my brother to remember him by.

I was about five years old, to this day I still remember him taking a magic marker out of my toy box and using it to scratch out a woman’s name… “ Maddie”. You could still see the name a little bit through the magic marker, but he smashed my magic marker completely flat, trying to wipe her name off of it.

He was a horrible person, the abominations that would dump out of his trashcan Mouth were disgusting. The way He would use God and the Bible as justification for things, I did not think were possible for a human to come up with.

This is his legacy he left behind, and this is my memory of them. We met face-to-face for the first time one day, I wanted to give him something, he wanted to give me something. On that day, we both found out that we were both Knife makers and leather workers, and we exchanged our knives we both had made for each other.

I carried his knife for years, he took my knife home and threw my handmade sheath in the scrap bin to make his own sheath.

Me and my little brother were so much better off without this animal

He lived for himself, only for himself. The woman, he lived a majority of his life with, was there, for reasons beyond me.

He actually had more than five children, me, and my brother can tell you that. So I’m clearing out this webpage from my browser and moving on. I’m moving on with my life, because all I ever wanted was this man to be my father, and he refused. Today, I am a father, I am a leader, I am a husband, I am everything I wanted him to be…. I Am breaking his wretched cycle. Read less I am his oldest legitimate son, Joshua Long. I have a younger brother Jeremiah for reasons beyond me my biological father Charles... Read more hid us from the world. He married my mother Brenda in 1987, in 1988 they had me.

This man was not a God-fearing man, this man had a trashcan for a mouth, he was a batterer, he was a drunk and a pill head.

I see extremely old photos of him in the music industry, he was beyond obsessed with this part of his life. How do I know? Because as soon as I turned 18, he stepped into my life. I kid you not.

I was beyond excited to finally meet him, because he kept his distance my entire life, never paid child support, never did anything to support me or my little brother in any way shape or form.

Try me on this, I’ll take a DNA test, better yet you don’t have to, all you need to do is see me, I look like his clone.

We spoke routinely for a two-year run, at which point I finally broke it off. Because I was tired of him, trying to take advantage of me every single day.

He and my mother, Brenda were legitimately married, she took me and ran to save my life as a baby, he beat her nearly to death two or three times a week when he would come home from his beloved life of singing in bars, he would come home, toasted on pills, smelling like alcohol and would beat her nearly to death.

One night was the final straw when he started Yelling at her about me not being his son, he was guilty, because he cheated on her every single night.

So to keep him from killing me, she ran.

They tried to get back together, because my mother loved him out of her mind and always spoke about getting back together with him. They tried it a year later, and that’s how she became pregnant with my little brother Jeremiah.

They were legally married for 15 straight years.

I still remember the day he came by the section 8 apartments me my little brother and my mother were staying in, he was so proud of a tape that he had recorded and he wanted to give it to me and my brother to remember him by.

I was about five years old, to this day I still remember him taking a magic marker out of my toy box and using it to scratch out a woman’s name… “ Maddie”. You could still see the name a little bit through the magic marker, but he smashed my magic marker completely flat, trying to wipe her name off of it.

He was a horrible person, the abominations that would dump out of his trashcan Mouth were disgusting. The way He would use God and the Bible as justification for things, I did not think were possible for a human to come up with.

This is his legacy he left behind, and this is my memory of them. We met face-to-face for the first time one day, I wanted to give him something, he wanted to give me something. On that day, we both found out that we were both Knife makers and leather workers, and we exchanged our knives we both had made for each other.

I carried his knife for years, he took my knife home and threw my handmade sheath in the scrap bin to make his own sheath.

Me and my little brother were so much better off without this animal

He lived for himself, only for himself. The woman, he lived a majority of his life with, was there, for reasons beyond me.

He actually had more than five children, me, and my brother can tell you that. So I’m clearing out this webpage from my browser and moving on. I’m moving on with my life, because all I ever wanted was this man to be my father, and he refused. Today, I am a father, I am a leader, I am a husband, I am everything I wanted him to be…. I Am breaking his wretched cycle. Read less I am his oldest legitimate son, Joshua Long. I have... Read more a younger brother Jeremiah for reasons beyond me my biological father Charles hid us from the world. He married my mother Brenda in 1987, in 1988 they had me.

This man was not a God-fearing man, this man had a trashcan for a mouth, he was a batterer, he was a drunk and a pill head.

I see extremely old photos of him in the music industry, he was beyond obsessed with this part of his life. How do I know? Because as soon as I turned 18, he stepped into my life. I kid you not.

I was beyond excited to finally meet him, because he kept his distance my entire life, never paid child support, never did anything to support me or my little brother in any way shape or form.

Try me on this, I’ll take a DNA test, better yet you don’t have to, all you need to do is see me, I look like his clone.

We spoke routinely for a two-year run, at which point I finally broke it off. Because I was tired of him, trying to take advantage of me every single day.

He and my mother, Brenda were legitimately married, she took me and ran to save my life as a baby, he beat her nearly to death two or three times a week when he would come home from his beloved life of singing in bars, he would come home, toasted on pills, smelling like alcohol and would beat her nearly to death.

One night was the final straw when he started Yelling at her about me not being his son, he was guilty, because he cheated on her every single night.

So to keep him from killing me, she ran.

They tried to get back together, because my mother loved him out of her mind and always spoke about getting back together with him. They tried it a year later, and that’s how she became pregnant with my little brother Jeremiah.

They were legally married for 15 straight years.

I still remember the day he came by the section 8 apartments me my little brother and my mother were staying in, he was so proud of a tape that he had recorded and he wanted to give it to me and my brother to remember him by.

I was about five years old, to this day I still remember him taking a magic marker out of my toy box and using it to scratch out a woman’s name… “ Maddie”. You could still see the name a little bit through the magic marker, but he smashed my magic marker completely flat, trying to wipe her name off of it.

He was a horrible person, the abominations that would dump out of his trashcan Mouth were disgusting. The way He would use God and the Bible as justification for things, I did not think were possible for a human to come up with.

This is his legacy he left behind, and this is my memory of them. We met face-to-face for the first time one day, I wanted to give him something, he wanted to give me something. On that day, we both found out that we were both Knife makers and leather workers, and we exchanged our knives we both had made for each other.

I carried his knife for years, he took my knife home and threw my handmade sheath in the scrap bin to make his own sheath.

Me and my little brother were so much better off without this animal

He lived for himself, only for himself. The woman, he lived a majority of his life with, was there, for reasons beyond me.

He actually had more than five children, me, and my brother can tell you that. So I’m clearing out this webpage from my browser and moving on. I’m moving on with my life, because all I ever wanted was this man to be my father, and he refused. Today, I am a father, I am a leader, I am a husband, I am everything I wanted him to be…. I Am breaking his wretched cycle. Read less

Caitlin Hale

I stand up for you and your TRUTH, and YOUR Right to tell it. He was abusive to Mattie, I offered to get her out. He verbally battered and abused her, the woman who kept him alive, physically took care of everything.. but he was sexist, he was a pervert, he was an abuser a drug addict and yet he claimed it all. I am the ONLY one I know with balls enough to stand up to him. Which is why he respected me.  He spoke about you many times actually... To me. And he knew he was a failure. He knew it. And he didn't want to hide it. He wanted you to hate him to be better than him.  Break the cycle. My bio dad denied me not because of the blood we share, but because he was NEVER present in my life.  Therefore I was NOT his. Instead of hurting I've defined myself not by another person's worth accomplishments or downfalls but by my own survival and struggle to flourish.  I stand up with you for telling the truth.  He did the best he could and we had many debates about God... I think towards the end... He found what God really was. And made his choice. Some accidents aren't accidents. Keep your head up and never lose the courage to tell the whole truth. It's rare. Would love to talk some day

I stand up for you and your TRUTH, and YOUR Right to tell it. He was abusive to Mattie, I offered to get ... Read more I stand up for you and your TRUTH, and YOUR Right to tell it. He was abusive to Mattie, I offered to get her out. He verbally ... Read more I stand up for you and your TRUTH, and YOUR Right to... Read more

Caitlin Hale

2022, Willis, Texas, USA

Dalton was devastated because his wife was recovering from debilitating illness, and he was lost (and obnoxious) without her... She always took care of him... He was not a man to show any weakness... But he was beside himself... His insulin wasn't ordered, he had no food.. and I wound up sending a delivery to who was at that time only a good friend of my ex husband. He touched my heart with his vocabulary, showing a highly educated and intelligent soul trapped in a world that didn't understand him. But his faith in God is what reeled me in. He stood up for my marriage and what I believed in.. Even though he counseled us NOT to get married... He was a character, definitely not a common type of person. As real friends do, we had our ups and downs... But he welcomed me into his living room to sleep when I had no roof.. and I still have the letters that he wrote us... Deep HONEST spiritual conversations went hand in hand with sex education and jokes that should probably not be repeated. But that is what made him who he was, unapologetically for the most part. I still have and will always have the boot knife he hand made me, in the leather sheath that he made with his own two hands. It fits perfectly in my hand... It was made for only ME NEVER would another like it EVER exist... And I will forever miss Mattie, with her neverending tolerance and for bearing for him, cantankerous, pugnacious and anal retentive. Her love was exclusively his... And I hope he is up there with her dancing and out singing the angels...

Of course if you REALLY knew Dalton... You'd agree... His heart was 1000× bigger than his bark or his bite.

May you both enjoy being where you always looked forward to.

R.I.P. Caitlin.

Notifications

Mr. Charles "Dalton Cross" Edward Long

Memories & condolences

Send flowers

Add to his legacy

Want to see more?

Get grief support

Send flowers

Add to his legacy

Share this memorial website

Notifications

Mr. Charles "Dalton Cross" Edward Long

Memories & condolences

Send flowers

Add to his legacy

Want to see more?

Get grief support

Send flowers

Add to his legacy

Share this memorial website

Stay in the loop

Stay in the loop