Richard Walter Hesse

Richard Walter Hesse was born December 20, 1945 in Pittsburgh, PA and passed away on October 11, 2024 from complications related to congestive heart failure and COPD. He was preceded in death by his father, Walter Carl Hesse, mother, Louise Schmidt Hesse, and his son, David Richard Hesse. He is survived by his loving wife of 47 years, Robin Lingo Hesse, his sister, Carole Hesse Shade, son, Douglas Scott Jones and wife Colleen, daughter, Teresa Anne Schlather, grandchildren, Collin Douglas Jones, Andrew Brian Jones, Sabrina Skye Schlather, Emily Powell, and Morgan Tylka, and great grandchildren, Kaden, Harper, Asher, and Zoe.

Richard was also known as Dickie, Dick, Rich, Dad, and Pap at various times. He was a quick-witted man who enjoyed the simple things in life. He loved Pittsburgh Steelers football and Houston Astros baseball. He found peace and joy while fishing. Richard and Robin loved cruising together. He could also often be found tinkering in his garage with his tools.

After a period of service in the National Guard, Richard attended trade school and worked as a pipework draftsman drafting everything from metro systems to nuclear power plants. He retired from the Bechtel Corporation in 2007 after 30 years.

Richard was famous for his fall-off-the-bone ribs, his smart yet silly comebacks, his willingness to help with any home improvement project, and the guarantee that he would make those projects take twice as long as they should.

In his memory we ask you to enjoy a gin martini with three olives at 4pm when he would have had his daily cocktail, and cheer for his beloved Pittsburgh Steelers this Sunday.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be directed to the Houston Astros Foundation.