Rob Hess
Rob Hess, a resident of Sag Harbor since 1986, died at his home on January 5 surrounded by family. He was 57. Mr. Hess was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer in early November and quietly battled the disease with the support of his family and close friends.
Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on May 21, 1953, to Dr. William Hess and Loretta Rooney Hess, he grew up in East Marion on the North Fork, where his father worked as a research scientist on Plum Island. From 1960 to 1964, the family lived in Kenya, East Africa, where Dr. Hess was stationed and his son attended a British boarding school before returning to Long Island. Mr. Hess graduated Greenport High School in 1971 and Boston University in 1976.
After college, he lived in Los Angeles and worked construction as a member of the Los Angeles Painters Union. In 1985, he returned to the East End to join Shaw Aero Devices as a quality assurance engineer, later moving into sales administration. He married Mary Lynne Thorp in 1986 and the couple made Sag Harbor home for the next 25 years. He remained with Shaw Aero until 1993, when the company relocated to Florida. In the years following, he was business manager with the Fred Stelle Company, an architecture firm in Bridgehampton and later served as practice manager at Hamptons Gynecology & Obstetrics in Southampton.
In 2007, Mr. Hess opened LABL, a small clothing store in Sag Harbor that blended fashion with art and carried the unique designs of several local artists. The business was a labor of love for Mr. Hess, who especially enjoyed visiting vendor showrooms with his children, Kirsten and David, hosting trunk shows with pizza and music and having people dropping in to say hello. Most recently, he enjoyed his role as proprietor of the Otter Pond House, a small bed and breakfast he started in 2010. But his proudest title was that of “dad,” said survivors.
They added that Mr. Hess was a hands on, do-it-yourself guy. He had an eye for design and his attention to detail was apparent in the various projects he did for his home and family. He redid the fiberglass on his old Boston Whaler and was meticulously restoring the Ensign he and his wife sailed most every weekend this past summer. Mostly Mr. Hess loved the idea that he was a part of the fabric of the Sag Harbor community, said his wife. From nursery school days at Stella Maris to the day his second child graduated on the hill at Pierson High School, as a member of the Breakwater Yacht Club before he could afford a boat to his brief tenure with the Chamber of Commerce, these connections were important to him. He liked running errands in town and meeting people along the way … coffee beans from Java Nation, his almost-daily trips to the hardware store, pizza at Conca’s, Wednesday night sailing on Blue Blazer .... Mr. Hess loved calling this village home, his family said. He will be remembered for his quick wit and humor as well as his deep love of, and eclectic taste in music, they added.
Mr. Hess is survived by his wife, Mary Lynne; two children, Kirsten and David; a brother, Brian Hess; sister-in-law, Suzanne MacNeille; and nephews, Ryan and Stephen Hess of New York City.
His ashes were buried in a private ceremony at Oakland Cemetery in Sag Harbor and a memorial celebration was held at the Breakwater Yacht Club on January 10. Memorial donations may be made to Fighting Chance or East End Hospice.
on Feb 2, 2011