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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of Dr. John H. Hess, who passed away on
4December 5, 2011; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Dr. John Hess was born on August 19, 1925, in the
6country then known as Yugoslavia; he married Anna Willer in
71957; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Dr. John Hess graduated from high school in June
9of 1944, the same month as the D-Day invasion of Europe; soon
10after, an SS officer "invited" him into his unit, which he
11demurred; he was then forced to work in Reich Labor Force as an
12auxiliary to the Wehrmacht; en route to Vienna to be forced
13into an SS division, Dr. Hess and four others jumped off a
14train; a Gestapo agent questioned them at a train station, but
15a convincing lie set them free, and they decided that a big
16city like Vienna was a good place to hide out; the 5 men found
17work in a helmet factory and remained until Soviet troops
18captured Vienna in 1945; despite the fact that he was not a
19soldier, he was declared a prisoner of war in November of 1945
20and sent to the Bor prison camp in Yugoslavia; he was also
21reported as being ethnically German, which was a death sentence
22in Yugoslavia at the time, but managed to avoid persecution;
23and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, After being set free from the prison camp, Dr.
2John Hess returned to his studies; after graduating from Karl
3Franzens University Medical School in Graz, Austria, he came to
4the United States and completed an internship and surgical
5residency at West Suburban Hospital in Oak Park;; he
6subsequently began his medical career in Fisher in 1958; he
7retired from practice on February 28, 1995; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Dr. John Hess was a charter fellow of the American
9Academy of Family Practice and served as a diplomate of the
10American Board of Family Practice for 12 years; he was a member
11of the staff of Covenant Medical Center and served on the board
12of directors of Mercy Hospital for 13 years; he also served on
13the Rantoul Township High School board for 10 years; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Dr. John Hess wrote an unpublished book about his
15life, including his World War II experiences, called "My Life
16By Hans Hess"; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Dr. John Hess is survived by his son, Dr. Art Hess
18(Kenda Callahan Hess); his daughter, Lydia Haan (Andrew); and
19his grandchildren, Anna-Kae, Nick, and William; therefore, be
20it
 
21    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL

 

 

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1ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
2his family and friends, the passing of Dr. John H. Hess; and be
3it further
 
4    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
5presented to the family of Dr. John Hess as an expression of
6our sympathy.