When, Nobilians meet, one of the first things they ask is “How is Father Hess”. That sums up the love, respect and adoration which all Nobilians have for Father George A. Hess. A Nobilian once wrote to me saying that a visit to meet Father Hess is like a pilgrimage. Nothing can be more true.

Father Hess embodies the true qualities of a wonderful human being — the integrity of a gentleman, the self sacrifice of a compassionate man, the discipline and quest for knowledge of a scientist, the athleticism of a tennis player and the hard work of a diligent person. He came to India in 1952 at the age of 32 at a time when India had just become independent from colonial rule in 1947. Today, 53 years later, Father Hess has lived longer in India than most Indians and continues to do yeoman work for our country and its people. During his seventeen long years as the Principal, Father Hess built De Nobili School into one of the finest educational institutions in India. The quality of education at De Nobili School, especially in the sciences, is borne out by the numerous engineers, doctors, army officers, air force pilots and business executives that have passed through the hallowed portals of De Nobili School. After his initial schooling at the Gonzaga College High School, in the USA, from where he graduated in 1937, Father Hess went onto study Physics and Philosophy at Georgetown University. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1943. He subsequently earned an L.Phil. From Woodstock College, Maryland in 1944 and a Master of Arts degree in Teaching from the same institution in 1945. In 1976, Father Hess graduated with a Master of Arts degree in Education from Stanford University. He was honored with a Doctor of Humane Letters (Honorary degree) by Gonzaga College in 1987.

The life of Father Hess is worthy of a book by itself. He is a living legend in India and not just in De Nobili School. A book on De Nobili School would be incomplete without a chapter that was dedicated to a gentleman and a scholar, who dedicated his life to serving the children of India. Most people travel to the United States from India in search of their destinies, guided by the opportunities to study, earn more money and fulfill their career aspirations. Very few travel in the opposite direction. Father Hess and the other Jesuit scholars and priests who built De Nobili School in the coalfields of India, were one such group of noblemen whose calling in life was to serve other people and build a better future for children in a far away land.

The selfless dedication of Father Hess to promoting education in India is borne out by the fact that in 1970, there was just one teacher at De Nobili School who had a Bachelors degree in Education and that was the Honorable Mr. Manik Midde. When Father Hess left De Nobili School in 1979, almost all our 80 teachers had received formal training in education and had graduated from the Loyola College of Education in Jamshedpur.

Father Hess was the Principal of De Nobili School from 1963 to 1979. Earlier he served as the Principal of Loyola School, Jamshedpur. After leaving De Nobili School, Father Hess spent 17 years as the Principal of the Loyola College of Education in Jamshedpur from 1979 to 1996. He simultaneously served as a Professor of Communications at the Xavier Labor Relations Institute (XLRI), Jamshedpur which is one of India’s premier business schools. In 1996, Father Hess moved to Bhubaneshwar where he was a Professor of Communications at the Xavier Institute of Management until 2001. Today, he is the Founder-Director of the Loyola Communications Center in Bhubaneshwar and despite his being 86 years old, he is tireless in his efforts to promote education in India, build new hospitals and schools and spread goodwill, happiness and love around him.

Father Hess became a Jesuit in 1937. Several years before that he had weighed many professions including engineering, music, acting and decided upon aspiring to become a priest. The Jesuits with whom he came into close contact with in high school lead to his requesting permission to join them. He chose to come to India in 1952 because Jesuits from the Province which he joined were assigned to India rather than to any other country. It was the beginning of a memorable joumey that would eventually lead to Father Hess making India his own home.

In his own words “My reason for volunteering was that without doing so I would be shutting the door on a primary aspect of being a Jesuit, that of universal availability. When offered a choice between that and doctoral studies in Physics for which I showed high aptitude I pointed out that volunteering precluded the making of a choice.”

Father Hess went to Stanford University in 1975 and studied Education in order to fit himself more professionally for writing in that field, especially when younger men would take over the positions which he had held. He has some wonderful memories of De Nobili School. Some of his favorite memories of De Nobili are of being able to take part in so many pioneering developments:

• constructing new buildings;
• developing the branch school system, unique in the Jesuit Order;
• developing the Blind School (an activity generally unknown to teachers and students.)
• and above all in being able to take a small part in the development of students, boys and girls, into mature independent minded, socially responsible adults.

While teaching Physics, Father Hess had daily demonstrations as far as possible. According to him “An axiom of science demonstrations is to test them before class. Lacking time to do this I violated the axiom leading to frequent failures in the demonstrations. I found that to be the best way to teach!! The whole class became involved in analyzing the failure. They also experienced the fact that scientific experiments often fail and in doing so may contribute to new knowledge. (Of course, you have to have already established your competence to do this.)”

The pictures on the next few pages tell the story of a truly wonderful man who dedicated his life for the good of others.