Sue Hess Obituary

Sue Irene Hess

Funeral services for Sue Irene Hess, 93, Lawrence, will be 10 a.m. Friday, July 10, 2015, at Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home.

She died Tuesday July, 7, 2015, at Lawrence Memorial Hospital.

Sue was born November 10, 1921, in Emporia, Kansas, the daughter of Stuart Oliver and Ruby Jane Wikoff Thomson. She graduated from Emporia High School, going on to earn a bachelor's degree in home economics, and later a master's degree in library science from the College of Emporia. She worked as a librarian for Lawrence Public Schools, Watson Library at the University of Kansas, and Lawrence Public Library. From 1976 to 1986 she was a social worker for SRS until her retirement in 1986.

Sue married Lt. Ralph Sooter, on July 27, 1942, who was killed in action in 1943 in the South Pacific. On December 11, 1944, she married James Hyde, a farmer and stockman who served in the U.S. Navy. They divorced; he preceded her in death in 1988. On July 30, 1962, Sue married Wilbur D. (Will) Hess; he served in the U.S. Air Force and graduated from Kansas State University with a degree in journalism, working as a photographer for the Salina Journal and the Lawrence Daily Journal-World. He preceded her in death in 2008.

Sue had a lifelong love of music. She was a soloist with an a cappella choir group performing for civic, wedding and funeral occasions. Sue also was a pianist and loved the pipe organ. Rachmaninoff and Dvorak are just a few composers she enjoyed. Her children are all musicians and artists. Some of her fondest memories were of her and her family traveling the U.S. and abroad camping.

Survivors include three daughters Mary Ann Johnson (Jim) of Overland Park, Kansas, Jane Hyde of Wichita, Kansas, and Susan Holmes (James) of Santa Fe, New Mexico; one son Joe Hyde, Osage County, Kansas; and five grandchildren.

A visitation will take place from 9 a.m. to service time on Friday.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Visiting Nurses or Lawrence Humane Society, sent in care of Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home.

Please sign this guestbook at Obituaries.LJWorld.com.