December 04, 1922 - February 19, 2016
Gordon William Hesse Obituary Gordon Hesse - Life Story Gordon William Hesse (93) passed away Feb 19, 2016, at Ivy Court in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. He was born December, 1922, to George Henry Hesse II and Hattie Jewell (Julietta Hatti Helm) Hesse and passed on February 19, 2016, at 93, in Coeur d�Alene, ID. George was a businessman in Spokane and Hattie homesteaded her own farm in Oregon and was a teacher. Gordon grew up on a 100 acre fruit ranch on the Yakima River in Whitstran, near Prosser, Washington. The road alongside the ranch was later named Hess Road, a misspelling. The Yakima River ran along the other side of the ranch, with the Horse Heaven Hills rising above. The family had previously moved to Canada to farm, but a drought ended that pursuit. Gordon was the seventh child of eight children and was preceded in death by the others (Frankie, Christian, Maynard, George (Stanley), Leda, Maxine, and Norman, with Norman, the youngest and last remaining sibling passing in May of 2012. Maynard passed as a young man after suffering an infection and Leda passed as a young child. Gordon graduated from Prosser High School in 1941. The family farm grew cherries and raised turkeys for market. At times, cherries were traded for salmon with the Native Americans. After losing the ranch during the Great Depression, Gordon and his father cleared land at the old CCC Camp near Zillah and briefly farmed. As a young man, Gordon returned to Whitstran to a 12 acre home his father purchased near their original farm. While there, he contracted rheumatic fever, which resulted in a heart murmur that made him ineligible to enlist in the WWII war effort. His mother, Hattie, moved to White Center, near south Seattle, to be near four of the children who had earlier moved to the that area. Stanley built a home for Hattie near his home in their White Center neighborhood. George followed shortly after, as did Gordon. Gordon married Mary Evelyn Gwin in June of 1947. They purchased 8 acres on Star Lake Road near Midway, later adding other nearby parcels, and had four children -- Ramona, George, Franklin, and Laurie -- and were married until 1957. Gordon remained single thereafter. Gordon worked at NW Lead Co. recycling automobile batteries until he became sick with lead poisoning. He worked for a Boeing subcontractor as a riveter on B-29s, and for National Steel as a welder, where he joined the Boilermakers Union. He worked at the Seattle shipyards for Puget Sound and Dredge, and for Pacific Car and Foundry. He later joined the Ironworkers Local when the Boilermakers Local was slow. He worked on the missile silos in Montana, several dams (Wells, Priest Rapids, and Ice Harbor), construction in King Salmon, Alaska, several Boeing Plant additions, refinery shut downs in Anacortes, and the Fast Flux Reactor at the Hanford Atomic Reservation near Tri-Cities, Washington, where he retired in 1986. He resided in Pasco from the 1970s, and purchased a one acre lot and mobile home on Clark Road in 1979. He survived colon cancer in 1998, and moved to Coeur d'Alene, ID, in 2011 near his son Frank after his health began to decline. Gordon was known to his siblings and friends as Bill or Gordy. He loved hunting and fishing, country music, playing pool and writing poetry. As a young man, he played the guitar, banjo, mandolin, and sang, and was a band member during his marriage. He had courted Mary with his musical talents. He was a big, strong, hard working man. He and his elderly father dug the well by hand on the Star Lake property and he built the home there. After retiring, he grew a large vegetable garden for many years, making produce donations to the community, and raising his own beef. He had an extensive welding shop and was always repairing and making things. He was a long time member of Eagles and the Washington State Grange and was known to have extended a helping hand to many. He is survived by three of his children, Ramona (Gary) Fultz, Franklin (Kathy) Hesse and Laurie Hesse, five grandchildren, and nine great grandchildren. Preceding him in death were his son George and grandson Eric Valdez. � To plant a beautiful memorial tree in memory of Gordon, please visit our Tree Store. Read more Events FEB 19
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