Mary P. Hess

Mary P. Hess, 67, passed away peacefully on April 15th at Westerly Hospital after living a full and loving life even following her cancer diagnosis in 2015. A longtime resident of Hebron, CT, Mary moved her family to Green Hill Beach. RI, in 2000. Until last year, Mary worked as a registered nurse, running flu clinics throughout eastern Connecticut. Her nursing career began in 1974 in Edison, NJ, where she was a critical care nurse at JFK Hospital. She worked as a visiting nurse in Middlesex County, NJ, from 1975-1979. Her nursing duties included outreach to migrant workers, and she once delivered a baby for a young mother literally laboring in a potato field. In 1979, Mary moved to Hebron, Connecticut. She taught Nursing and Long-term Care at St. Francis School of Nursing in Hartford while attending graduate school. In 1981, Mary received a Master of Science in Nursing with a specialization in hospice care from the University of Connecticut. She worked as a hospice nurse for 8 years. During that time, she started her family, welcoming her son Brian in 1981, and her daughter, Brittany, in 1986. As her family grew, Mary joined the Connecticut Visiting Nurses Association where she worked for the next 32 years. She was a clinical coordinator, running well-baby clinics and flu clinics; she also practiced geriatric, hospice, and wellness care. She was a loving caregiver, a devoted nurse who developed many lifelong friendships with her patients, especially the elderly. Mary Patricia Hess was born on August 2, 1951 in Queens, New York. Her mother was the late Walda (Taylor) Hess, a homemaker. Her father, the late Frank C. Hess, was a business executive in New York City. The family moved to Merrick, NY, in 1954. Mary attended Cur of Ars Elementary School. She was an honors student at Sacred Heart Academy in Hempstead, NY, graduating in 1969. When Mary was accepted at St. Anselm College in Manchester, NH, she was a member of the first coed class. After graduating in 1973 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Mary was an alumni board member, planning and attending various reunions and events, staying close with dear friends, and enjoying their lifelong love and support. Marys first marriage to James Robert Miller ended in divorce. In addition to their two children, Brian Taylor Miller and Brittany Sullivan Miller-Hague, another daughter, the late Molly Elizabeth Miller, born in 1990, passed away in infancy. At the time of her baby daughters death, Marys family and close friends were immeasurably supportive and loving, helping Mary through the most painful and difficult period of her life. During her 45-year career as a nurse, Mary received multiple awards and commendations, including the Florence Nightingale Award, in 2010, for excellence in nursing. Mary loved caring for and nurturing others; she continued to practice and generously shared her nursing expertise with her patients, family, and many friends, even after her own cancer diagnosis. For 5 years, Mary worked as a volunteer at the local food pantry in Charlestown, RI. She also volunteered for the Mystic Aquarium, helping stranded sea life at area beaches. Mary was the heart of her community at Green Hill Beach and an active member of the Green Hill Civic Association. She organized picnics and neighborhood gatherings, and headed a group dedicated to preserving local green space and wetlands. A year-round Green Hill resident, Mary always kept the communitys weekend and summer residents posted on all the latest local news. She was constantly seen walking her beloved golden retrievers, first Murphy and later the aptly-named Midas, at Green Hill Beach. Sitting on her favorite bench with countless friends, canine and human, Mary always had a generous smile, a friendly hello, and many amusing anecdotes to share. It was nearly impossible to live or stay at Green Hill Beach and not befriend Mary Hess. Mary married her husband, Bertil F. Hess, in 2000. They enjoyed traveling the globe together, visiting all seven continents (including on the ice, and even swimming, in Antarctica). They saw all Seven Wonders of the World, traveled extensively and fearlessly: encountering a Komodo dragon in Indonesia, seeing the Northern Lights in Greenland, and swimming with pink dolphins in the Amazon. They traveled to 105 countries, exploring nearly every corner of the earth. Mary Hess is survived by her husband Bert, her son Brian, her daughter Brittany, her sister Bridget Ann (Hess) Reiss, her brother Michael J. Hess, two half-brothers, Robert A. Hess and Eric C. Hess, as well as her large, loving family, including 4 grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and cousins (a self-taught genealogist, Marys extended family expanded thanks to her tireless hunting for long-lost relations), and countless close friends, neighbors, classmates, and international travel companions. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 am on Thursday, April 18th, at St. James Chapel, 2079 Matunuck Schoolhouse Road, Charlestown, RI, 02813. Burial will be at a later date at Saint Peters Cemetery, 30 Church Street (Route 85). Hebron, CT, 06248, where Mary will be interred with her beloved daughter Molly. In Marys memory, in lieu of flowers, donations can be made in her name to the American Cancer Society at their website: Cancer.org or Donate3.cancer.org.