Jerry 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.

Background

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.

Career

In 1951, Hess entered the U.S. Navy, where he served until 1955.

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.

After retirement, he volunteered as an oral archivist for the Ringling Circus.

Oral histories

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

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.

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.

Hess died age 85 on June 23, 2017, at Doctor’s Hospital in Sarasota, Florida.