Beatrice Pilz Hess July 17, 1928 - January 4, 2015

Beatrice Pilz Hess, 86, of Sisters, daughter of Leo and Cora Pilz, and loving wife of Richard Hess, passed away on January 4, from lung cancer.

Bea was not in pain. With hospice support, she rallied for the usual, fun, and busy family Christmas. Dick and Bea spent her last eight days side by side at Ridgewater, a hospice home, in Bend. She cheered on the Ducks while watching the Rose Bowl with Dick, Dave, Janette and Rob. In a few days, she had passed. Family and friends are all grateful for that time with her.

Bea is survived by her husband, Richard Theodore Hess; her three sons and their wives, Ron and Mary, Robert and Jeanne, Dave and Janette; and her five grandchildren, Daniel, Jacob, William, Grace and Truman. She is also survived by her five siblings, Jeanette Roberts, Ray Pilz, Leona Knowlton, Marlene Evans and George Pilz.

Bea was born in Sacramento, California, on July 17, 1928, and grew up attending public schools in Clarksburg, California. She was an avid tap-dancer who easily did splits! She spent her summers in Lake Tahoe where it was cooler, sleeping in a tent with her brothers and sisters outside the small family cabin. She grew up hiking and enjoying the out-of-doors.

Bea attended San Jose State University when it was a teachers college. She pursued math and science, completing all but a master's degree in the male-dominated - at the time - field of geology.

Bea and Dick met on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii in 1953, and married in 1954. They raised their three boys in Los Gatos, California. Bea taught elementary school in Los Gatos until her retirement. She was an innovator, along with Gracia Trevey, being the first two teachers to job-share in the district. Bea brought her love of math, science, and learning along with her endless patience and quiet sense of humor to work with the children every day. Bea was an environmental volunteer and an active member of Los Gatos United Methodist Church. Her hobbies included reading, photography, hiking, skiing and extensive world travel.

Bea and Dick moved to Sisters in 1994. Bea set and met her goal of 2,000 hours as a volunteer docent at the High Desert Museum in Bend. She was much loved by friends in several community groups: the Casual Quilters, the Out to Lunch Bunch, a garden group, a book group and Support Our Sisters, a support group for breast-cancer survivors. She was a member of Bend First United Methodist Church.

Bea and Dick hosted family holidays at home, at the beach, in the mountains and in Hawaii for their 50th wedding anniversary. An active grandmother, she took each grandchild on several trips to see the United States when they turned age 10.

Dick and Bea enjoyed a full life together for over 60 years. Bea was "a great lady! We all loved her," as Dick would say. And to quote her son, Ron, "She taught us, inspired us, blessed us and loved us. She lives on in us." She was much loved and is greatly missed by her family and friends.

For those wanting to make a donation in Bea's memory, please contribute to The High Desert Museum, 59800 S. Highway 97, Bend, OR, 97702.

A celebration of her life will be held at the The Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration, 68825 Brooks Camp Rd., Sisters, on April 18, at 2 p.m. A reception will follow in the social hall.