Hess

Betty K. Hess, 98, of the Sherwood Oaks Retirement Community in Cranberry Township died on the morning of Oct. 4 surrounded by her loving family.

She was born in Torrington, Wyo., on Nov. 27, 1914, the daughter of William B. and Elizabeth Black Kelley.

In 1932, she moved with her family to Pittsburgh where she attended the University of Pittsburgh. There she met her future husband, J. Frank Hess, an engineering student at Carnegie Mellon University. She graduated with a degree in psychology and married on July 1, 1938.

After working as a social worker for two years, she began her life’s work as mother and homemaker. Of her five children, her first born, Thomas, and last born, Susan, died in childhood, 1942 and 1963, respectively. She lost her beloved husband on Nov. 26, 2007, within months of their 70th wedding anniversary.

Mrs. Hess was an avid reader on a broad range of topics from philosophy and psychology to science and the arts. She never stopped learning. She was a naturalist and an environmentalist before it became popular. She grew prize winning roses. As a passionate birder, she took delight in their presence at her feeder until the day she died.

A longtime member of the Ingomar United Methodist Church, she lived out her Christian values, generously giving her time and energy as a volunteer at North Hills Passavant Hospital. A two-time survivor of cancer herself, she was a driving force in the Reach to Recovery Program and was honored for her work on the board of the Greater Pittsburgh unit of the American Cancer Society.

The last surviving founder of Sherwood Oaks, she lived in and cherished this community for the past 31 years.

She is survived by her son, William B. Hess and his wife, Lynn Hess, of Orchard Park, N.Y.; her daughters, Patricia Kelley Bothe of Concord, Mass., and Kay Little and her husband, Dana W. Little, of Auburn, Maine; her eight grandchildren, Susan White and her husband, Ryan White, of Lakewood, N.Y., Katie Bushallow and her husband, Marc Bushallow, of Rochester, N.Y., Sarah Bothe of San Francisco, Calif., Susannah Kelley Bothe and her husband, Robert Rogers, of Salem, Mass., Kate Bothe and her husband, Eamon Brown of Providence, R.I., David Little and his wife, Laura Little, of Chicago, Ill., Clementine Little Jennings-Hess and her partner, William Jennings-Hess of Boston, Mass., and Robert Little of Auburn, Maine; and her five great-grandchildren, Jack and Ella White of Lakewood, N.Y., August Bothe Brown of Providence, R.I., and Finley and Tate Rogers of Salem, Mass.

Her family wishes to thank the Celtic Hospice Team and especially the Sherwood Oaks nursing and Special Services staff for the exceptional care and love they provided when she lost her independence.

HESS — The friends of Betty K. Hess, who died Friday, Oct. 4, 2013, are invited to a memorial service in the auditorium at Sherwood Oaks Retirement Community, 100 Norman Drive, Cranberry Township, at 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Sherwood Oaks Scholarship Fund.

Arrangements are under the direction of the McDonald-Aeberli Funeral Home, 238 Crowe Ave., Mars.

Condolences are available at www.mcdonald-aeberli.com.