Robert "Bob" Hess

Robert (Bob) Hess of Luther, Michigan was born on February 2,1944, in Pipestone, Minnesota and died on Friday, March 27, 2026, at the age of 82. Bob is survived by his high school sweetheart and wife of 59 years, Mary; his son, Jamie and wife Laura; his son, Chad; his daughter, Molly and her husband, Tommy; his grandchildren, Ava, Cydney, Rune, Nolen, and Clayton; his sister Judy and husband, Larry Dahl; and his nephew Michael Dahl and wife Monica, and their children Mackenzie and Jacob. Bob graduated from the University of Minnesota and received a B.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife. He began his career with the Minnesota Department of Conservation. Bob moved with his wife Mary to Michigan and worked for the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) from 1968 to 1997. His 30-year career for the DNR began in Paris where he worked as a wildlife habitat biologist. In 1971, he moved to Lansing where he worked in the Office of Environmental Review. In 1973, Bob became the District Wildlife Biologist in Grand Rapids, serving there until 1985. In Lansing, he oversaw the Wildlife Division’s Nongame/Endangered Species Program for seven years, which coordinated the Nongame Wildlife Trust Fund and included the successful reintroduction of the Peregrine falcon and Trumpeter swan. Bob finished his career in Mio as District Wildlife Biologist. His work in Mio included the management of the Kirtland’s Warbler Program and he was instrumental in creating the Kirtland’s Warbler Festival for which he earned an “Eyes on Wildlife” National Achievement Award in 1994. Bob retired in 1997 and continued his career as an environmental consultant in land management and served as an instructor of “The Birds of Northern Michigan” with the University of Michigan Biological Station and John C. Campbell Folk School in North Carolina. He volunteered with numerous local organizations including the Pine River Association, Bluebird Society, and the Cadillac Area Land Conservancy. Bob spent his childhood roaming the prairies surrounding Pipestone National Monument in Minnesota, where his lifelong love for the outdoors took root and his deep respect for Native cultures began to grow. He was an avid birder, a hunter and fisherman, and a faithful steward of the land, who understood that nature is not ours to conquer, but to protect. Alongside his distinguished career, Bob undertook a labor of love that reflected the very heart of who he was by reclaiming a historic timber-frame barn and carefully moving and transforming it into a cabin that stood in harmony with the natural world. Bob was, at his core, a builder of places, of ecosystems, and of connections. He had a deep love for stone, shaping the land with patient hands, restoring wetlands, and nurturing life wherever he could with quiet devotion. Above all, Bob was an environmentalist in both word and deed, a man who lived his values. As a father and grandfather (Baba), he passed on not just knowledge, but reverence: teaching his children and grandchildren to see the land as sacred and to care for it with humility. He was preceded in death by his parents Carlton and LaVerle Hess and nephew, Jeffrey Dahl. In his memory, and in celebration of his life, take a walk beneath an open sky, pause to watch the sunset, listen for the call of birds and the quiet rhythms of the land. Honor him by protecting the environment, by engaging in conservation, and by caring deeply and intentionally for the natural world. Donations can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association at www.alz.org or to the Michigan Bluebird Society at www.michiganbluebirds.org. A Celebration of Life will be held Saturday, June 27, 2026 from 1-3 pm at the Luther Lions Club. An online guestbook is available at www.petersonfh.com.

Robert "Bob" Hess

February 2, 1944 - March 27, 2026