Merrill S. Hess

MERRILL S. HESS of Southampton and Morristown, NJ, died peacefully and surrounded by his family on Saturday, October 27, 2012. He was 84. Mr. Hess was born in New Jersey and graduated from Williston Academy in Easthampton, MA in August 1945. He attended Yale University before joining the U.S. Navy in which he served as a medical corpsman during the Korean Conflict. He began a career in baseball in 1953 after meeting Branch Rickey, Sr. Later, Mr. Hess served as the Assistant Director of Scouting for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1957-1977. The Hess family established lasting roots in Bermuda when Mr. Hess' parents, Alfred and Blanche, retired to the island in the mid-'50s. During his lifetime, Mr. Hess was a member of the Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club, the Coral Beach Club, and the American Friends of Bermuda. He enjoyed playing golf at the Port Royal Golf Club and for many years was a volunteer for the island's Meals on Wheels programme. In July 2007 at the request of the Bermuda Maritime Museum, Mr. Hess invited students from Millersville University in Pennsylvania to conduct an archeological excavation on the family's Southampton property. Mr. Hess is survived by his wife Mary and daughter Megan of New Jersey, and daughters Arlan of Pittsburgh, and Heidi of Pittsburgh and Bermuda. He was loving godfather of Fiona Brydon of Bermuda. A funeral was held in New Jersey in November. A private memorial will be held this week in Bermuda. The family would like to thank the many locals who have shared the gift of friendship over the years and, in the words of Merrill, wishes everyone ?a Bermudaful day.?