Hess, Jared (1978-2008)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 2008 Feb 4 p. 9

Birth date: 1978 Jan 27

text of obituary:

JARED HESS

Jared Hess, 29, of Philadelphia, died Jan. 25, 2008, of complications from acute myelogenous leukemia. He was born on Jan. 27, 1978, in Cincinnati.

For a week each summer he went to music camp at Camp Friedenswald in southern Michigan, where he later joined the camp’s summer staff. He played on the Cincinnati traveling AAU basketball team, in which most of the players, including him, went on to play at the NCAA Division I level. He attended Lehigh University and captained the basketball team for three years. He was profiled in the book The Last Amateurs by John Feinstein. He majored in business information systems. At Lehigh he met Anne. They were married on Aug. 16, 2003.

In Philadelphia, he was an active member of Oxford Circle Mennonite Church and a person of living faith. He took much pleasure organizing 3-on-3 basketball tournaments as part of the church’s outreach to the community. He was a member of Philadelphia’s Singing City choir. He played Ultimate Frisbee at the club level with Donkey Bomb and was employed by Primavera.

Stricken with aggressive leukemia in May 2007, he began an online journal about the upcoming battle. Over the next eight months more than 40,000 visits were recorded.

Survivors include his wife, Anne; sons Caleb, 2, and Noah, 4 months; parents Hal Hess and Christine Schumacher of Cincinnati; and sister Alison Schumacher of Indianapolis.

A memorial service was held at Germantown Friends Meeting in Philadelphia. A second memorial service will be held Feb. 16 at Kennedy Heights Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati.

Contributions to help with his family’s immediate expenses can be sent to Oxford Circle Mennonite Church, PO Box 28340, Philadelphia, PA 19149, indicating “Hess Family” on the memo line.