BARBARA PERRY HESS

BANGOR – Barbara Perry Hess died peacefully Nov. 14, 2008, surrounded by loving family at a Bangor health care facility. Born Oct. 16, 1921, in Houlton, Barbara was the daughter of Blanche R. and Chester H. Perry. She grew up in Houlton, graduating from Houlton High School in 1938, and at age 16 matriculated at the University of Maine. After graduating in 1942 from the university, she taught at Bridgewater High School through June 1944. She and John E. “Pete” Hess were married Aug. 28, 1944, in Houlton, during his five-day furlough from the U.S. Navy, immediately after which they moved to Philadelphia, where Pete was stationed at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. Their eldest son was born while his father was in the Pacific. After the war, they moved to Boston and later to Bangor, where Pete began his professional career and Barbara and he together raised their five children. Barbara was a devoted wife and mother, as well as an enthusiastic and involved member of the Bangor community. She was a member of All Souls Congregational Church, where she and Pete first forged many of their cherished and longstanding friendships; Chapter A, P.E.O.; Bangor Junior League; Bangor Jaycee Wives and Quipus Club. She also served on the board for several years at the Bangor Children’s Home. She supported Pete, both publicly and privately, in countless ways during the course of his career, including christening The City of Bangor B-52 aircraft with the sharp crack of a champagne bottle at Dow Air Force Base during Pete’s term as Bangor’s mayor. Barb and Pete wintered in Mesa, Ariz., for nearly 20 years, made many lovely friends there and delighted in importing their children and their families to visit them whenever possible. They also shared a love of travel and took many wonderful trips together both in the United States and abroad. The family picture albums positively bulge with photos providing a visual record of their adventures. Nothing provided Barbara with more pleasure, however, than her family. She cheered at endless Little League and basketball games, applauded at numerous recitals, served as a Cub Scout den mother and volunteered at her children’s schools. She also had to run a tight ship at home, in some years having to serve five separate lunches for an active and separately scheduled family. As her grandchildren came along, she was constantly organizing picnics, hikes and trips with them. She loved them dearly, and they all loved their Nan. Barb and Pete, who predeceased her in 2006, were married for 62 years. She is survived by her five children, Walter R. and wife, Janice Cane, of Rockport, Mass., Brenda H. Jordan and husband, Kenneth, of Glen Ellyn, Ill., Alan P. and wife, Sheila, of Orono, Paul E. and wife, Vickie, of Braintree, Mass., and John A. and wife, Louisa, of Greenville and Brewer; 13 grandchildren, Peter E. Hess and Cristina of Wellesley, Mass., Katherine Cane Hess of Bethlehem, Pa., Sarah J. Zahn and Ted of Portland, Ore., Laura J. Barger and Dean of New York and Northeast Harbor, Kenneth P. Jordan of LaGrange, Ill., Gerald M. Hess of Boston, Julia M. Hess of South Portland, Andrew P. Hess of Gorham, Stephen R. Hess of Bangor, Kristina L. Hess of Arlington, Va., Lee M. Hess of Braintree, Mass., Aurora J. Hess and Andrea M. Hess, both of Brewer; and three great-grandchildren, Emilia R. Hess of Wellesley, Mass., Edward Bennett Zahn of Portland, Ore., and Ayden W. Foley of Portland. She is also survived by her sister, Lois Ann Creed of Watertown, N.Y.; nieces and nephews. The family extends its grateful thanks to the staffs at Dirigo Pines Retirement Community and Westgate Manor nursing facility, where Barbara was so beautifully and gently cared for during the final stages of her life. Friends and relatives are welcome to call 1-3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 16, at Brookings-Smith, 133 Center St., Bangor. Funeral services will be held 2 p.m. Monday, Nov. 17, at All Souls Congregational Church, 10 Broadway, Bangor, with Dr. James L. Haddix, pastor and teacher. A reception will be held immediately afterward in the vestry of the church. Those who wish to remember Barbara in a special way may make gifts in her memory to an organization of their choice.