[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 82 (Wednesday, May 12, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H2201-H2202]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HONORING THE LIFE OF THOMAS HESS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Michigan (Ms. Stevens) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of my incredible 
friend, Tom Hess, a beloved resident of Northville, Michigan, who we 
lost last month after a courageous battle with cancer at the age of 76.
  Tom was born in Detroit in the summer of 1944 to Raymond and Jessie 
Hess.
  After graduating from Michigan State University in 1966, he joined 
the United States Army, where he attended Infantry Officer Candidate 
School. He went on to complete all the training necessary to become a 
Green Beret and proudly served his country as a first lieutenant during 
the Vietnam war. This was something that Tom was

[[Page H2202]]

deeply proud of, his service to the country.
  Upon his honorable discharge from the Army, Tom returned to Detroit, 
where he graduated from Wayne State University Law School and was 
admitted to both the Michigan and Florida Bar Associations. He became 
the managing partner of a law firm in Daytona Beach and had many 
exciting real estate ventures in Florida before moving back to metro 
Detroit in 1990 to establish his own firm, where he practiced for 
another 18 years.
  Tom married his exceptional wife, Janet, in 1991. Together, they 
opened their hearts and their home in Northville to members of our 
community on countless occasions.
  This was the stuff that the Democrats of Western Wayne County are 
made of, and it is what raised me as a young candidate for Congress to 
propel me into office.
  Their generosity was boundless and their ability to connect people 
endless. It is something that we will remember for all of time, in 
their home, in downtown Northville, that looked as if it was built in 
the 1800s but was actually built by Tom himself.
  With his generous spirit and political acumen, Tom was a tireless 
advocate for the causes closest to his heart. He cared very deeply 
about the work being done in this Chamber, and he was focused on 
efforts to make our democracy more fair, strong, and inclusive for 
generations to come.
  During my final visit to Mr. Hess, when I got the opportunity to say 
good-bye to him--because in classic Tom Hess fashion, he insisted, as 
he lay in hospice, on having an open, living wake--he looked me in the 
eye and said to me that his ultimate wish, his dying wish, was to see 
H.R. 1, the For the People Act, signed into law.

  He was passionately committed to ensuring the success of our 
democracy, and he recognized the historic opportunity we have before us 
right now to bring our elections into the 21st century and to ensure 
that everyone has the right to vote. He looked me in the eye and said: 
I ask you to tell your colleagues on both sides of the aisle, but most 
penetratingly, the other side of the aisle, to join you in getting H.R. 
1 done.
  Now, we know we have taken the H.R. 1 vote in this Chamber, and it is 
going to the Senate. So I send the message from Northville, Michigan, 
as any good representative of their constituents would do: Pass H.R. 1 
now. Send this to the President's desk for his signature.
  Tom showed us a life well-lived. For if cleanliness and perfection of 
home is godliness, that was Tom and Janet.
  The Wall Street Journal in August 2020, just last year, reflecting on 
the hobbies that people were taking up in the pandemic, shared stories 
about people building model trains in the bottom of their homes, and 
that was something that Tom already had in his home. He had this model 
train station that we would, during the pandemic, go down and look at. 
He disassembled it and gave it to a museum before he passed away. So, 
he beat the pandemic trend.
  We know that Tom is survived by his loving wife of 29 years, Janet 
Hess; his children, his son, Raymond, and his beloved granddaughter, 
Hazel; his in-laws; many nieces and nephews; and extended family 
members throughout Michigan and Indiana.
  The family pays tribute to Angela Hospice, providers who I had the 
chance to meet when I was visiting with Tom, for their tireless work 
and dedication to the people in the most sacred time in their life, 
and, of course, the VA hospital in Ann Arbor, which Tom loved so 
dearly.
  I thank my colleagues for joining me and recognizing my beloved 
constituent, Tom Hess.

                          ____________________