Herman William Hess, Jr.

February 27, 1936 - March 1, 2019
Herman William Hess, Jr.

Herman William Hess Jr., 83, passed away on March 1, 2019 surrounded by his loved ones. His sweet smile will be missed by all.

He was born and grew up in Chester, VA. He graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1959 and Catherine Spalding College in 1968.

Mr. Hess retired from Ford Motor Company in 1990. After retirement he held part-time positions with Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), William and Mary University and Colonial Williamsburg.

Mr. Hess was preceded in death by his parents, Herman William Hess and Elizabeth Milton Hess; his late wife, Joan Woodall Copeland Hess; and daughter, Elizabeth (Beth) Ellen Copeland Phillips.

He is survived by hi loving wife, Kathryn Riley Hess; brother, Milton Andrew Hess and wife, Carolyn Williamson Hess; daughters, Elizabeth Lamb and husband, Bill, Cynthia Garcia and husband Oscar, Barbara Copeland Moore and husband, Scott, Kim LeClear; sons, Ronald LeClear and wife, Pamela, Robert LeClear and wife, Teri; grandchildren, Grayson Moore, Mitchell Moore, Nicholas Garcia and wife, Jeanette, Diego Garcia, Macy Garcia, Joshua LeClear and wife, Paige, Kathryn Cirilli and husband, Brandon; great-grandchildren, Grace Garcia, Gabriel Garcia, Cooper Garcia, Pyper Garcia, Rudy Garcia, Noah Garcia, Amy LeClear, Nicholas LeClear, Dominic Cirilli, Chase Cirilli, and Luca Cirilli.

A celebration of life will be held on March 9, 2019 at 1:00pm at Bucktrout of Williamsburg Funeral Home. Memorial donations may be made to the Williamsburg Alzheimer’s Association.


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  • March 07, 2019
    Jacqueline Blake says:
    To the Hess Family: Please know that you have my deepest and heartfelt sympathy. Herm was a wonderful person. He loved his family and was so proud of each of his grandchildren. We worked together at William and Mary and he was not just a co-worker but also a friend. He will be greatly missed.

  • March 08, 2019
    Tom and Carol Beeler says:
    We are deeply saddened by Herm’s passing but our warm memories over the years will be forever cherished. From snowmobiling, bridge club, Ford HR experiences, season theatre tickets, and the list goes on. On a funny note, sales of M&Ms and chocolate chip cookies will decrease significantly now.! We send you, Kay and the girls, our heartfelt support and love. Tom and Carol