As Father George Hess, the doyen of education in Jamshedpur ascends to the heavenly abode, residents of the Steel City bid him a tearful goodbye on Thursday. Hundreds thronged to St Joseph's Cathedral, Golmuri to pay their respects to Father Hess, who passed away on July 30.
"We will always remember him warmly as a gentle and compassionate person. He was equally concerned about the poor and the marginalised and did all he could to assist them in every way possible. His sad demise is an irreparable emotional loss for us all", noted Fahter E. Abraham, director, XlRI.
Born on October 10, 1919 in Bayonne, New Jersey, Fr. Hess came to India in 1952 at the age of 32 at a time when India had just become independent from colonial rule. After his initial schooling at the Gonzaga College High School, in the USA, from where he graduated in 1937, Father Hess went onto study Physics and Philosophy at Georgetown University. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1943 and subsequently earned an l.Phil from Woodstock College, Maryland in 1944 and a Master of Arts degree in Teaching from the same institution in 1945. In 1976, Father Hess graduated with a Master of Arts degree in Education from Stanford University. He was honoured with a Doctor of Humane letters (Honorary degree) by Gonzaga College in 1987.
His first assignment as a Jesuit Monk was to set up loyola School in Jamshedpur in 1952 with 285 students on 3.5 acres of land which once housed the Chota Nagpur Regimental Club (CNR). He was the principal of loyola School for ten years from 1954 to 1963 at De Nobili school, Dhanbad for seventeen years. He was principal of loyola B ed College. He was passionate about photography and was responsible for the setting up of training rooms in Jamshedpur and Bhubaneshwar.
In his own words "My reason for volunteering was that without doing so I would be shutting the door on a primary aspect of being a Jesuit, that of universal availability. When offered a choice between that and doctoral studies in Physics for which I showed high aptitude I pointed out that volunteering precluded the making of a choice."
One of his students Ronald DCosta, a Class of 1964 alumni loyola School, Jamshedpur recalls that Father Hess is the shinning example of selfless dedication to promote education in India. Another of his student Mohinder Singh says: "Bringing young talent to the fore was his forte. He embodied the true qualities of a wonderful human being - the integrity of a gentleman, the self sacrifice of a compassionate man, the discipline and quest for knowledge of a scientist".
Hess moved to take over the loyola B.Ed. College, Jamshedpur, when its founder, Fr. Kenneth Judge, had to return to the U.S. due to ill health. He master-minded its move to the huge 15-acre plot on the outskirts of Telco Colony. After establishing the college in its new premises, Fr. Hess moved on to Bhubaneshwar to help in XIMB, teaching communication. Before being hospitalised, Fr. Hess was busy readying material for a couple of books. He had already published, Once Upon a Time, his book of memoirs in 2011 besides scores of articles in various newspapers and magazines.
His funeral service was held at St Joseph's Cathedral, Golmori. The burial took place at Jesu Bhavan, Mango, thereafter.