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DeutschJerry N. Hess
Jerry N. Hess (1931–2017) was a 20th-Century American oral historian of U.S. presidential libraries, particularly the Harry S. Truman Library: his name appears in numerous books which include research into major personalities related to mid-20th-Century American national politics and draw upon the more than 500 oral histories available at the Truman Library alone.[1][2][3]
Background[edit]
Hess was born on September 24, 1931, in Cedar Vale, Kansas. His parents were James Nelson and Mary Elixabeth Burge. He had one older brother, Norman Burge Hess. He obtained a BA from Kansas State University of Lawrence and MA from the University of Missouri at Kansas City.[1]
Career[edit]
In 1951, Hess entered the U.S. Navy, where he served until 1955.[1]
Hess served as an oral historian for President Harry S. Truman Library as well as the National Archives in Washington, D.C. He helped develop other presidential libraries.[1]
After retirement, he volunteered as an oral archivist for the Ringling Circus.[1]
Oral histories[edit]
Hess' Truman Library interviews include:
- George E. Allen
- Vernice Anderson
- Eben A. Ayers
- John E. Barriere
- Jack L. Bell
- David K. E. Bruce
- Tom C. Clark
- Bruce C. Clarke
- Clark Clifford
- William K. Divers
- General William H. Draper Jr.
- George M. Elsey
- Stanley R. Fike
- Edward T. Folliard
- Joseph A. Fox
- Clayton Fritchey
- Warner Gardner
- Roswell Gilpatric
- Charles J. Greene
- William H. Hastie
- Judge Richmond B. Keech
- E. W. Kenworthy
- Milton S. Kronheim, Sr.
- David L. Lawrence
- Gould Lincoln
- Max Lowenthal
- John J. Muccio
- Philleo Nash
- Frank Pace Jr.
- John W. Snyder
- Stephen J. Spingarn
- John L. Sullivan
- Theodore Tannenwald, Jr.
- Phillip W. Voltz
Personal and death[edit]
Hess was a 32nd Degree Mason with life membership in the Scottish Rite Valley of Tampa. He was also a member of: the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of Missouri, the Sons of the American Revolution, the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Shriners International.[1]
On June 4, 1960, Hess married Barbara H. Neubauer; she died in 1994. In 1998, he married Bertie Lee Ruth; she died in 2016. In 2006, he and Bertie moved to Sunnyside, Florida.[1]
Hess died age 85 on June 23, 2017, at Doctor’s Hospital in Sarasota, Florida.[1]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Jerry Nelson Hess of Sarasota, Florida (1931 - 2017)". Toale Brothers. 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
- ^ "Note: Jerry Hess". Washington Post. 12 July 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
- ^ "Note: Oral Histories". Harry S. Truman Library. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
External sources-[edit]
- Truman Library: Oral History Interviews (more than 500)
- Truman Library: Photo of Hess et al. (1958)