T. George Hess, ’67, Bond #1123

THE EARLY YEARS

George was born in Bronxville, NY in 1945 to Theodore (Ted) Hess and Alison Coe Hess. They soon moved to Westfield NJ in 1949. His father graduated from Williams College and he was employed by AT&T in NYC in the engineering and accounting departments. His mother graduated from Mount Holyoke College and was a housewife in Westfield where George attended public schools through ninth grade; played football, belonged to Junior Essex Troop where he learned to ride horses, mounted and dismounted drill and was an “Expert” rifleman. Initially he planned a West Point education, and attended New York Military Academy during his sophomore year. He played football, was member of the rifle team, manager/trainer for the track team; received a number of awards for good conduct, academic achievement and promoted at year end to “captains staff”. He returned to public education in Westfield for his junior year and spent much time in music as a bass in the choir, men’s glee club and church choir. The family then moved to Scotch Plains, half way through his junior year. There he graduated from Scotch Plains-Fanwood HS in 1963. His activities included manager/trainer for the football and basketball teams, president of the choir and election into the National Honor Society.

OHIO WESLEYAN

George had applied to a number of East Coast schools including his father’s alma mater Williams College. His overall high school academic achievements were good but he never scored high on the SATs. That along with the admissions policies of many east coast/New England schools which counted heavily on “geographic distribution” of incoming classes, made admission difficult, especially for students from New Jersey which had few colleges, other than Princeton, that eastern students wanted to attend. His brother had gone to Mount Union and was assistant dean of admissions. A neighbor was at Ohio Wesleyan and she thought it a fit for George. George noted that “… quite frankly, OWU did accept him, but on “condition”, as his SAT scores were not at the level of most of the entering freshmen….”

BETA THETA PI

Off to Delaware, he was placed in Thompson Hall, next door to the Beta house. He attended a number of Beta summer rush parties, and although his brother had been an SAE at Mt. Union College, George was impressed with the energy of the Beta house and when asked to pledge, he accepted. At that time “rush” was conducted during the week before classes started; therefore, his first experience at OWU was fraternity rush.

CAMPUS AND FRATERNITY LIFE

George notes that, “…my college years spanned a period during the Vietnam war. When I first arrived at OWU and pledged Beta, it was common to bring dates back to the fraternity house after a movie or a few beers at the “Jug”, to play a few hands of bridge on the living room floor before taking the dates back to their dorms before curfew. On the down side, by the time I graduated we had very little furniture left in the living room of the Beta house. Unexplained, a couple of the brothers were changing the oil on their motorcycles on the carpet!! It was a time of significant change and the beginning of a change in the Greek system overall.” George was a pre-med major, graduating with a Zoology degree. Many of his afternoons were filled with one kind of lab or another. “…When I wasn’t in lab or in the Glee Club, I worked at CJ Wilson’s clothing store where I became very good friends with another Beta, Tom Farahay. After Tom had graduated in the 50’s, Tom stayed in Delaware and worked at Wilson’s until he retired. Tom was a great brother and one we all enjoyed — both our visits to CJ’s and his visits to the Beta house, which were often…”

CAREER AND FAMILY

“My desire to become a Vet somewhat vanished when I learned that I would have to attend 48 straight months of school at the University of Penn as a result of my mediocre grades my senior year. So, I entered the work force starting my telecommunications career in Toledo, Ohio as a management intern in customer service. I met and married my first wife. We had three boys, one in Toledo, and two were born in Cleveland after a couple of company transfers.

CAREER AND LIFE CHANGES

After 35 years in telecommunications working for a number of “start up” organizations, George decided he had moved around enough (19 moves, mostly corporate). “…Since there was one thing where I had experience, buying and selling houses, I decided to go into real estate sales. I spent 9 ½ years in Santa Rosa, CA selling over $47 million in residential property …”

RETIREMENT

Finally deciding to “retire”, I decided to move one last time back to Ohio where the cost of living was more reasonable and his wife, Paula, had roots and family. “…We built a new home and moved back in the fall of 2011. I am still active in real estate sales to the level I choose to be involved. I focus on both residential and commercial and have become a CCIM candidate in the commercial environment. I am also active as treasurer of our church which takes a good deal of time. During the better weather months I enjoy golf. My sailing days of the San Francisco bay are behind me, but my love of the water and sailing live on…”

TODAY

“While working at United Telephone Company in Mansfield, Ohio, Paula and I were married in 1980. After five years, Paula became an instant mother of George’s 3 teenage sons. Until moving to Ohio, they worked together in California real estate. [George notes that] ….We enjoy our lives together and spend much of the time with Paula playing tennis 2 – 3 times a week, and George doing volunteer work along with his real estate.” They can be reached at: 509 Old Mill Run Rd., Mansfield, Ohio 44906-3472 • (419) 709-8077 home • (707) 235-3421 cell george.hess@att.net

From all your brothers, …

George, Thank God You’re a Beta!