Richard John Hess

1935 - 2021

Richard John Hess died peacefully on the morning of September 3, 2021, to the serenade of his favorite opera, Wagner's ring cycle, Der Ring des Nibelungen. A long-time resident of Ft. Lauderdale, Richard was active in the AA, SAGE, and the wider gay community.

Richard was born on March 7, 1935, in Morgantown, West Virginia. His mother was Rose Hess, and his father was Harold Hess. Richard was the second of four siblings, Robert, Jack, and Ruth. Richard was born during the depression era and his family struggled financially. He recalled his family being of the working class, which included five generations of bricklayers.

Richard's parents also struggled with alcoholism, causing some measure of neglect of their children. Much of the time the children fended for themselves and for each other. Richard took special care of his two younger siblings, Jack and Ruth. Ruth is the only surviving sibling. Richard is also survived by his niece, Leslie Llanos of Kahuku, Hawai'i, and Barry G. Porter of Albuquerque, NM.

Richard was the master of his own fate. Even at the early age of 13, he knew that if he wanted his life to be better, he would have to take charge of it. At age of 13 he hitchhiked across the country to join the Boys Town school in Nebraska. Richard saw Boys Town as an opportunity for an education. After he was settled in Boys Town, Richard sought help to get his younger brother there as well. Eventually both Richard and Jack graduated from Boys Town, while his sister, Ruthie, stayed with aunts in Ohio.

After Boys Town, Richard joined the Air Force at age 20. Much to his pleasure, he was stationed in Germany. During is off-hours from his duties with the Air Force, Richard travelled through Europe touring museums and learning about one of his life's great loves – the Opera. He learned to speak German and cultivated a love of art, history, and music.

Upon his return to the United States, Richard took courses from the University of Maryland and earned a degree in business administration. After working for Lufthansia and PanAm airlines, Richard opened his own travel agencies in Maryland and Virginia and continued his passion for world travel. During this time, Richard was in his first long-time love relationship with professor and pianist Stewart Gordon.

At about age 45 Richard realized that he had a problem with alcohol and joined the Alcoholics Anonymous community and remained sober and silly for the rest of his life. He retired early and moved to St. Thomas, Virgin Islands and then to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

When the AIDS crisis struck the gay community in the 1980's, Richard began his extensive work as a volunteer for AIDS service organizations. He helped many people with AIDS through volunteering, through friendship, and with direct care. He has seen many friends suffer and die, but his friends did not die alone or forgotten. Richard was by their side, loving and caring for each of them.



Richard ended his life as he lived it – on his terms. In 2019, Richard moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico to be near his nephew Barry G. Porter and Barry's husband, Robert Jackson. While in Albuquerque, Richard continued his love of the arts, spent time with his family and shared his fabulous good humor. In his final days, Richard enjoyed dozens of conversations with his Florida friends. He remained grateful to his last breath for the friendship, camaraderie, and "gay" humor of his friends and family.

Thanks to Robert Scardino for drafting Richard's life story above. The family asks that Richard be honored by everyone going out and helping another in need and remembering their friend Richard that lived his life to the fullest…. on his own terms.