Philip Hess
Philip G. Hess is remembered as a firm yet fair jurist who loved serving the people of Jefferson County.
Mr. Hess, who served as the Division 2 Circuit Judge in Jefferson County for a quarter-century, died Aug. 3, 2021, in his sleep. He was 92.
Retired Circuit Judge Timothy Patterson, Hillsboro, who was the Division 1 judge for the last eight years of Mr. Hess’ tenure, summarized Mr. Hess’ judicial tenor succinctly.
“He was very firm,” Patterson said. “Everybody knew that. But I think he was fair as well as firm.”
Patterson said he had dealt with Mr. Hess earlier, when Patterson brought cases before him first as assistant prosecuting attorney and then as prosecuting attorney.
“He had a firm hand in the courtroom, certainly,” Patterson said. “He ran a very precise courtroom. When he told you to do something (as an attorney appearing before him), you did it.”
Before he was elected to the bench, Mr. Hess prosecuted cases himself as the Jefferson County prosecuting attorney from 1962-1966. He also was a hearings examiner for the Public Service Commission and had worked for Monsanto.
But his son, Philip M. Hess, said his memories of his father are of a judge.
“When he first was elected to the bench in 1965, I was 7 years old. At that point, it’s hard for me to remember before he was a judge in Jefferson County. That’s who he was – a judge. He always considered it a great way to serve the people of Jefferson County.”
As a father, his son said, Mr. Hess “always was a towering figure.”
“All three of his children – my older sisters and I – all went on to get their law degrees, and two of us practiced as attorneys. I think that says something about him as an example.”
He said he remembered sitting in on a criminal sentencing hearing in his father’s courtroom when he was about 13 years old.
“I listened while my father expressed his displeasure at the man who was being sentenced, and it felt a lot like when I was being grounded. They definitely seemed the same to me. But, of course, I didn’t have to go to prison.”
Instead, the younger Hess, who lives in St. Louis, is now serving on the Eastern District of the Missouri Court of Appeals.
He said his father instilled a strong work ethic in him and his sisters.
“One of the things I remember is his work ethic,” he said. “I remember him having cases back-to-back-to-back. He would have a jury trial and, if it went past the regular hours, he would keep the jury there until a verdict was rendered. Then he would get up the next morning and start another trial right away.
“You can’t do that now, because you have to arrange for courthouse security, but back then, he could just work into the late night.
“I would say my two sisters, who are now retired, and I all got our work ethic from my father,” he said.
The younger Hess said his late mother, Margaret, and his father were good role models.
“My mom was 19 years old by a couple of days when they got married, and he soon went off to combat with the U.S. Army in the Korean War.
“When he got back, he ended up going to law school (at the University of Alabama),” he said. “My parents went from having $25 in their pocket to living a very successful life.
“After my dad retired, they loved to travel. They went to Africa, South America, Australia, New Zealand, all over Europe, the Mediterranean and the Caribbean. They really saw a lot. They liked reading and seeing things, and always wanted to learn.”
But, he said, Crystal City always was home.
“After my father graduated from law school in Alabama, my parents could have chosen to live anywhere, but he wanted to come home. He wanted to spend his life in Crystal City and in Jefferson County. He liked to point out the house on Mississippi Avenue where he was raised.”
After Margaret Hess died in 2012, life came full circle for his father, as he reunited with his childhood sweetheart, Jacqueline Govero Peterson, whose husband had recently died.
“That’s a cute story,” his son said. “He and Jackie went to grade school together at Sacred Heart School in Crystal City. She had been married for 64 years, and my mom and dad were married for 61 years. They had 125 years of successful married life before they found each other again, and they were married in 2013. He enjoyed being part of their family.”
The younger Hess said his father was an attentive grandfather of six, but because his sisters moved west, his three sons benefited from the lion’s share of their grandfather’s attention.
“My father visited his other grandchildren at least once a year and always looked forward to it, and he loved all of his grandkids, but because we were close, he spent more time with mine. (He said his father moved to St. Louis after retirement to be closer to his son’s children.)
“He loved talking with them, especially as they got older, about politics and current events. He doted on his grandchildren.”
And apparently those talks had some effect, as one of his grandsons has earned a law degree and another is near completing his legal studies.
“The tradition continues,” the younger Hess said.
Curiously, his son said, his father rarely spoke of his time in the armed services.
“He never talked about his combat experiences in Korea until he was about 70,” he said. “I think a lot of the men who served in combat during World War II and Korea tried to push it down and try to avoid talking about it and thinking about it. But at some point, something happens and their mindset changes. Once he got to that point, he told us that his service was something he was really proud of.”