Louise Hess

        

A Memorial service for Norma Louise Hess, 76, Okmulgee will be held at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, February 14, 2009 at First Christian Church in Okmulgee with Reverend Charlie Green officiating.  Services will be conducted by the McClendon-Winters Funeral Home.

 

Louise died Wednesday, February 11, 2009 at St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

She was born May 23, 1932 in Herrick, Illinois to Allen and Bertha Smart.  Louise grew up and attended schools there, and was the first member of the family to attend college at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois, graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Education.  She attended Millikin University (Illinois), and Northeastern State University (Oklahoma), and received a Master’s Degree in Adult Education.  She was ABD (all but dissertation) for her Doctorate in Education from Oklahoma State University.

 

She married Robert (Bob) Paul Hess on August 9, 1953, and taught school all her working years, beginning with elementary school, and finally spending 27 years at Oklahoma State University at Okmulgee, before her retirement in 1991.

 

She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother Roger Smart in Illinois. 

She leaves behind her husband of fifty-four years, Bob Hess; six children and their spouses:  Dr. Randy and Debbie Hess; Holly and Don Martin; Dr. Cindy Hess and Frank Duncan; Rob and Margaret Hess; Lou Anne and Jim Walters; and Rick and Kathy Hess.

Grandchildren include Lauren and Joan Hess; Dr. Emily and Jason Bussey, John and Scott Martin; Jackson, Alex, and Mark Hess; Robert, Austin, and Tyler Walters; and Jordan and Blake Hess.  Great grandchildren include Marielle and Vivian Bussey.

 

Louise was active in the First Christian Church, Chapter Z of the P. E. O. Sisterhood, the Garden Club, Sesame Club, a sustaining member of the Okmulgee Service League, and a staunch Democrat, which created some lively dialogue with Bob.  She loved drinking coffee, eating an orange while watching the sun come up, the fireplace going year-round, digging in her garden, planting trees, and feeding her birds.  The only TV she really liked was Oklahoma Gardening, Wheel of Fortune, Rick Steves Travel, and March Madness.  She didn’t like raunchy jokes, the TV too loud, too much teasing, overhead lights, or Mexican food.  The achievement Louise was most proud of was all six kids graduating from college. 

 

Although Louise loved flowers, she preferred the kind that would beautify the earth on a long-term basis.  The family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be made to the Arbor Day Foundation or the Nature Conservancy.  Last Christmas, in honor of her lifelong commitment to education, the family presented Louise with a memorial scholarship:  the Louise & Bob Hess Scholarship Foundation, c/o Page Hayden, First National Bank, P.O. Box 1037, in Okmulgee Oklahoma.