Leo Frank Hess Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Mass of Christian Burial of Leo Frank Hess, age 83, of Muenster was held at 10:00 AM on Friday, June 3, 2022 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Burial followed at Sacred Heart Cemetery. Rosary and Vigil was held at 6:00 PM on Thursday, June 2, 2022 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Mr. Hess passed away on Tuesday, May 31, 2022. Leo was born to Albert and Agnes Hess on January 24, 1939 in Muenster, Texas. He was the eldest of 10 children: Pat, Earl, Virgil, Angie, Gilbert, Flo, Melvin, Tim, and Clarence. He seemed to enjoy his seniority in this hierarchy very much. As the eldest he was expected to lead and consequently, expected to be followed. And so, from a very young age, he was. At just 5 years old in 1943 while war and revolution raged in Europe, Leo led a successful rebellion of his own with his young brother Pat. You see, when it was just the pair of them in the house all was well, but when Earl was born, the constant crying led to an upheaval. Leo, the leader, had to act. With Pat at his side, he began walking down the dirt road towards the sweet sounds of silence. Their journey to freedom was cut short when they were happened upon by their father, Albert, who asked his boys where they were going and why they weren’t home. Leo proceeded to tell him about Earl’s crying and that he just couldn’t take it anymore. At this point Albert loaded them up in the car and drove them home where it was discovered that Earl had a milk allergy that had been causing all the crying. When this was explained to Leo his indignation turned to remorse and he was okay living in the house once again. Leo’s education took place at Sacred Heart where he was shaped by the nuns that taught and their quick striking rulers that corrected. One may be led to believe that his regimented and structured nature came directly from these women. It’s no wonder that a boy of this type would, as a young man, wish to join the armed services. After graduating From Sacred Heart in 1957 Leo did, in fact, join the Navy where he was a radio operator. While in the Navy he was stationed in California. During his time there he married Mary Lou Vogel in 1959. They went on to have two children, Brian and Sherrie. He worked for 33 years at Xerox, and he retired from there in 1996. While Leo may have had a strict code of conduct for the other troops in the Hess Family Regiment, he often relaxed a few rules for himself. Once while out on Muenster patrol with Weldon Vogel he decided that the icy road conditions were too tempting to resist. They began doing donuts on the ice but were quickly apprehended and ticketed by the Muenster Police. Now you would figure that as a sitting city council member he would have realized that this was bad PR and would have known better. And apparently, he did know better because it was only a few short years later that he was elected Mayor of Muenster. Leo’s patrols didn’t end at the borders of Muenster, Texas either. He often stood guard on the Red River and pushed back the invading hordes of Oklahomans. This fact can be proven with one simple example. When a group of unruly Oklahoma boys had begun walking across the riverbed to the better side, or Texas side, whichever you prefer, he drew his pistol from its holster and shot a duck out of the sky. At the sight of such gunmanship only bested by Doc Holiday himself, the marauding men ran back to their side of the river. Leo loved his grandchildren and great grandchildren: Kacie, Erin, Halle, Leo, Dusti Lou, Jed, Blaire and Daegen. Along with Mary Lou he raised Kacie for the majority of her life …until he handed over his responsibilities to me. Leo also loved to spend time with his granddaughters, Erin and Halle. Never more than during the Germanfest bicycle races where he would sit with the girls at Brian’s gate and play his favorite polka music for the riders as they rode by. When you are asked to talk about a man’s life you often think it a simpler endeavor than it really is. In the span of eighty-three years, you think you are bound to find a multitude of stories that help to explain what a person was, what they achieved and what sort of a mark they left. We’re left thinking now about how the best stories usually end with the someone saying, “you just had to be there.” This definitely applies to anything pertaining to Leo. No one did it quite the way he did it. No one sang karaoke with quite the confident swagger. No one could take over the room with a big yell or a hearty laugh quite the same way he did. And as his nephew, Rodney, said “When you had Leo’s affection, no one could make you feel quite as important as he did. Even making a simple high school history teacher feel like a world-renowned history scholar”. This is much the same thing we can take away from our time knowing Leo. Our lives will be a little quieter now. A little less boisterous. In a word, it will be a little less “Leo”. But far better for having had him as a part of it.

Leo Frank Hess

January 24, 1939 - May 31, 2022