Clarence Joseph Hesse died in Salinas, CA, Monday, August 22, 2011.
Clarence was born on January 22, 1916, in Hot Springs, SD.
He lived on his parent’s homestead outside of Hot Springs until he was twelve when he moved to Howells, NE.
Clarence married Marjorie Peterson in Omaha, NE on May 16, 1936, and graduated from Creighton University School of Dentistry in Omaha in June 1937. During WWII he served in the US Army Air Corps as a dentist stationed in Lemoore, CA. After the war he continued to serve as a Reservist until his retirement with the rank of Colonel.
In 1947, Clarence began a twenty-five year career as a dentist for the Veterans Administration while continuing his education to become an oral surgeon specializing in cancer of the mouth. In 1964, he was appointed Chief of Dental Services at the VA Hospital in Martinez, CA. A
year later Clarence was appointed assistant to the Assistant Chief Medical Director for the VA in Washington DC.
He retired in 1972, and he and his wife moved to Hollister, CA purchasing a home in Ridgemark. They became
members of the Immaculate Conception Church in Tres Pinos.
His wife preceded him in death in 1996. He continued to live in Ridgemark until he moved to assisted living at Villa Serra in Salinas following a stroke in
2006.
Clarence is survived by his son Dr. Robert Hesse and wife Lucille from Winchester, MA; daughter Sandra and husband Bob Petersen of Hollister, CA, and daughter Regina Paulus of Livermore, CA. He is also survived by eight grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, and four great-
great-grandchildren.
Friends are invited to attend a Mass of The Resurrection on Friday, September 2nd, 2011, at 10:00 A.M. at the Immaculate Conception Church 7290 Airline Highway, Tres Pinos.
Interment will be next to his late wife Marjorie at St. Joseph’s Cemetery, Atkinson, Nebraska. Donations are preferred to Sacred Heart School Scholarship Fund or to the Immaculate Conception Church Roofing Fund c/o mortuary chapel.
Visit: www.grunnagle.com for condolences
