The primary mover in the founding of the Plastics Hall of Fame in 1972. Made many major contributions to the growth and stature of the plastics industry. The premier plastics publication editor of his time.

Gross brought to his job as Editor-in-Chief of Modern Plastics a clarity of purpose and a zeal for excellence. Writers who could not defend their copy on the grounds of Sid's three essentials -- news, relevance, and focus -- soon found themselves in intensive re-research. Like all great editors, he was also a good teacher.

Sid believed it essential not merely to become immersed in industry affairs, but to take a leadership role. He was a provocative speaker who championed plastics as uniquely valuable materials of design, not as synthetic substitutes.

He was born in Dusseldorf, Germany in 1920; his parents sent him to a kibbutz in Palestine in 1936. In 1938, with war approaching, his parents brought him to the U.S. He received his B.S. degree from Princeton in 1942 and after a hitch in the Army, he received his masters in sociology at Columbia University. He joined Breskin Publications (founder of Modern Plastics) in 1952. He rose through the ranks to become Editor-in-Chief in 1968, a post he held until his retirement in 1985.

He is survived by Lillian, his wife of more than 42 years, two daughters, and four grandchildren.