Rod (age 79) passed away at home on August 14th. He was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and primarily raised there and in North Carolina. Later years, he resided in Chicago. While there he became a Commercial Artist. He moved to Boise in 1977 and resided here until his death. He was VP- Art Director for Morrison-Knudsen until his retirement. After retirement, he taught guitar for a few short years and designed his own lesson book for easy learning. His interests and hobbies were vast. Growing up his family had musical talent, and he played & had quite a collection of guitars. This was his passion and loved the blues. He had quite a mind for writing lyrics. He literally wrote hundreds of songs, and a tune to the lyrics afterwards. He especially enjoyed writing Christian rock music. He had a band in younger years with his brother, Dan. And he always said he taught his baby sister, Sonny, her first few chords and she litterly bloomed from there, to become a successful musician in Portland. He married his wife, Linda on August 4, 2000 and they enjoyed several cruises & music in their retirement years. He was predeceased by his father, Claude Alexander Hess, and his mother, Bobbie Lee Hess Morgan, two sisters, Joan Hess and Annette Moore. He is survived by his wife, Linda, his daughter, Melissa Renee Levine in Augusta, Georgia, his brother, Daniel (Dan) Hess, his sister, Claudette (Sonny) Hess both in Portland, his brother-in-law, Carl Moore in Boise, whom he considered as his brother, and several nieces, whom he loved.
Graveside services will be held Tuesday, August 22nd at 12 noon at Terrace Lawn Cemetery in Meridian. Any memorials could be sent to St Jude’s Children’s Hospital, his favorite charity.