Post by title1parent on Sept 23, 2008 5:34:23 GMT -5
Prayers to his family and friends. What an exceptional young man.
www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/1179162,6_1_NA23_HESS_S1.article
Waubonsie alum dies in Utah traffic crash
Newlywed remembered as exceptional musician
September 23, 2008
By BILL BIRD wbird@scn1.com
Members of the extended Waubonsie Valley High School family are in mourning this week for Michael Scott Hess, a musically talented member of the school's class of 2004 and newlywed who died of injuries suffered late last week in a traffic crash near his new home in Utah.
Funeral services were held Monday morning in Salt Lake City for Hess, who played the bass and performed in Waubonsie's 2003 student production of the musical "42nd Street," among other accomplishments. The former Aurora resident was also one of 12 students chosen to attend the January 2004 all-state Illinois Music Educators Association conference.
A recent resident of Castle Rock, Colo., and Provo, Utah, the 22-year-old Hess had been married only a month when the car he was driving rolled over on a highway.
The Salt Lake Tribune cited a Utah Highway Patrol official who said driver fatigue might have figured in the single-vehicle crash. It occurred shortly after midnight Thursday on Interstate 15 in Weber County, between the Great Salt Lake and the Wasatch Mountains.
Hess, who was alone at the time, apparently over-corrected as his car drifted into the median, the newspaper reported. The car rolled over several times and came to rest on its roof.
Police said Hess was wearing his seat belt and was not ejected from the car, but apparently suffered extensive head injuries. He died about five hours later in an area hospital, according to the newspaper account.
Hess played the role of the stage manager in Waubonsie's production of "42nd Street." His other accomplishments while enrolled there included earning a Division I rating in 2003 in the Illinois High School Association's State Solo and Ensemble contest, in which he sang with the school's madrigal group.
A member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Hess served in the church's England Birmingham Mission. He was married Aug. 16 in the Nauvoo Temple to Natalie Joyce Clark.
"Michael adored Natalie with all his heart," according to information provided by Larkin Mortuary in Salt Lake City. "He had a wonderful laugh ... and the unique ability to make people feel that they were important and loved."
"He had a musical soul," performing with the Brigham Young University Concert Choir and the Welsh's Men Chorus, according to information provided by the mortuary.
A mortuary official on Monday afternoon estimated 250 people attended services for Hess.
In addition to his widow, Hess is survived by his parents, Scott and Wendy Hess, who now live outside Denver; his sisters, Coryn and Kelsey Hess; and his brother, David Hess, as well as numerous other relatives.
An online condolences page is at www.larkinmortuary.com/opc_sop_gb.php?obituary_idx=2564.
In lieu of flowers, the Hess family asked that donations be made to the Michael Scott Hess Memorial Scholarship Fund through any Wells Fargo Bank location.
www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/1179162,6_1_NA23_HESS_S1.article
Waubonsie alum dies in Utah traffic crash
Newlywed remembered as exceptional musician
September 23, 2008
By BILL BIRD wbird@scn1.com
Members of the extended Waubonsie Valley High School family are in mourning this week for Michael Scott Hess, a musically talented member of the school's class of 2004 and newlywed who died of injuries suffered late last week in a traffic crash near his new home in Utah.
Funeral services were held Monday morning in Salt Lake City for Hess, who played the bass and performed in Waubonsie's 2003 student production of the musical "42nd Street," among other accomplishments. The former Aurora resident was also one of 12 students chosen to attend the January 2004 all-state Illinois Music Educators Association conference.
A recent resident of Castle Rock, Colo., and Provo, Utah, the 22-year-old Hess had been married only a month when the car he was driving rolled over on a highway.
The Salt Lake Tribune cited a Utah Highway Patrol official who said driver fatigue might have figured in the single-vehicle crash. It occurred shortly after midnight Thursday on Interstate 15 in Weber County, between the Great Salt Lake and the Wasatch Mountains.
Hess, who was alone at the time, apparently over-corrected as his car drifted into the median, the newspaper reported. The car rolled over several times and came to rest on its roof.
Police said Hess was wearing his seat belt and was not ejected from the car, but apparently suffered extensive head injuries. He died about five hours later in an area hospital, according to the newspaper account.
Hess played the role of the stage manager in Waubonsie's production of "42nd Street." His other accomplishments while enrolled there included earning a Division I rating in 2003 in the Illinois High School Association's State Solo and Ensemble contest, in which he sang with the school's madrigal group.
A member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Hess served in the church's England Birmingham Mission. He was married Aug. 16 in the Nauvoo Temple to Natalie Joyce Clark.
"Michael adored Natalie with all his heart," according to information provided by Larkin Mortuary in Salt Lake City. "He had a wonderful laugh ... and the unique ability to make people feel that they were important and loved."
"He had a musical soul," performing with the Brigham Young University Concert Choir and the Welsh's Men Chorus, according to information provided by the mortuary.
A mortuary official on Monday afternoon estimated 250 people attended services for Hess.
In addition to his widow, Hess is survived by his parents, Scott and Wendy Hess, who now live outside Denver; his sisters, Coryn and Kelsey Hess; and his brother, David Hess, as well as numerous other relatives.
An online condolences page is at www.larkinmortuary.com/opc_sop_gb.php?obituary_idx=2564.
In lieu of flowers, the Hess family asked that donations be made to the Michael Scott Hess Memorial Scholarship Fund through any Wells Fargo Bank location.