Cletus J. Hess, Jr.

Cletus J. Hess, Jr, 86, of Tuscaloosa, AL and formerly of Boiling Springs, died on Saturday, August 8, 2015 at the Druid City Hospital in Tuscaloosa.
He was born on February 13, 1929 in Waynesboro to the late Cletus J. Hess, Sr. and Bessie Mabel Bigham Hess and was the widower of Ruth A. Killinger Hess who died April 9, 2005.
Cletus was a man of many trades throughout his long life. From a very young age he delivered milk and ice and picked fruit and potatoes to support his family during the Depression.
He served in the United States Navy as a young adult. Afterward, he worked at a gas station, steel foundry and the Gettysburg Shoe Factory. He joined the Boot & Shoe Workers' Union becoming a business agent. He later chose to step into the political arena. Governor Milton J. Shapp appointed him Director of the State Workman's Insurance Fund of the Bureau of Worker's Compensation. He retired from the Commonwealth of PA's Auditor General's Office. He took up a second career of truck driving during retirement before finally settling down in his late 70's. Throughout his career he actively served in the AFSCME, Chapter 13, Central PA AFL-CIO and the Central PA Labor Council. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Central PA Blood bank. In life, he enjoyed spending time with his family, politics, reading, watching the news, riding motorcycles and was an avid NASCAR fan.
He is survived by two sons, Kenneth L. Hess of Mechanicsburg and Cletus C. (and wife Laura) Hess, Jr. of Tuscaloosa, AL; a daughter, Nancy A. Kuykendall of Elkhart, IN; three brothers, Pius Hess of Gettysburg, Guy Hess of Mechanicsburg and Paul Hess of Mt. Holly Springs; two sisters, Sarah Wolf of Carlisle and Janice Long of Mt. Holly Springs; five grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a daughter, Kimberly P. Hess and a sister, Lois Helms.
Funeral Services will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 13, 2015 at Hoffman-Roth Funeral Home & Crematory, Inc., 219 N. Hanover St., Carlisle, PA with Rev. Richard L. Reese officiating. Burial will be at Cumberland Valley Memorial Gardens with military honors provided by the Cumberland County Honor Guard. There will be a viewing from 6:00-8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 12, 2015 at the funeral home and on Thursday from 12:30 p.m. until the time of the services.
To sign the guestbook, please visit www.hoffmanroth.com