Robert Edward Hess

Robert Edward Hess September 7, 1922 - August 28, 2007 Long time resident of San Carlos passed away on August 28, 2007, surrounded by the love and support of his wife of 60 years, Elly and his four children, Marsha, Terry, Robert Jr. and Carol. Mr. Hess was born in Elgin, the son of Edna and John Hess. He came to California in 1939 and trained to be a flight engineer. Robert was a pioneer in the field of aviation, flying the Pacific for Pan Am Airlines on the Boeing Clipper B3-14. He served during WWII as part of the Naval Air Transport system and was granted an honorable discharge. He remained with Pan Am until the late 1950s then moved to GTE Lenkurt in San Carlos. He met and married Eleanor Nelson of Belt, MT, in 1947 and the two spent their early years living both in San Carlos and in exotic places such as Bangkok and Guam. Bob's greatest pleasure was his family. He and Elly raised four children with a love and respect for the environment. Bob spent many hours building and maintaining trails in the San Mateo County Park system. Bob served as a Scoutmaster for Troop 105 and was chair of the San Carlos Chapter of the Sierra Club. Bob and Elly were hike leaders and spent many hours hiking the hills of the Bay Area and backpacking in the Sierra with family and friends. Bob was a docent for Hiller Aviation for years and an active member of the Airline Retired Employees Assoc. He was a wonderful artist and woodcarver. Bob was an enthusiastic participant in his children and grandchildren's activities. Robert leaves behind his wife, Elly; children, Marsha (Ken Roby), Terry (Jeff Hickey), Robert (Beth Hess), and Carol (Mark Sontag); grandchildren, Will, Erin, Mike, Cramer, Lynsey, Shawn, Ashlee, Jeffrey, Barrett, Holden, Alyssa and Jordan. A celebration of his life will be held on Sunday, Sept. 30, 5-7pm at the Hiller Aviation Museum, 601 Skyway Rd. San Carlos, CA 94070. In lieu of flowers, gifts can be made in Bob's name to the Friends of Edgewood Interpretive Center P.O. Box 3422 Redwood City , CA 94064.