May 29, 1938 – January 12, 2026
Francis Joseph Hess was born to Francis J. and Marguerite Huber Hess on May 29, 1938, in Crystal City, Missouri. Young Joe’s early encounters with the Congregation of the Mission came through his great uncle, Father Oscar Huber, C.M. As a result of this relationship, Joe began discerning a religious vocation while he was in elementary school.
He attended Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Festus, Missouri, where he was baptized and confirmed and attended the parish elementary school. Upon graduation from Sacred Heart, Joe attended St. Vincent’s College, the Vincentian high school seminary in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. He entered the Vincentian community immediately after high school, professing vows in the community on May 31, 1959, at St. Mary’s of the Barrens in Perryville, Missouri, taking the name Brother Thomas. He eventually reverted to his legal given name and became Brother Joe.
After a period of formation, Brother Joe studied business and accounting at DePaul University in Chicago and Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This training served him well, as he spent the next 40-plus years serving as treasurer at St. Vincent de Paul Seminary in Lemont, Illinois, St. Vincent College in Cape Girardeau, St. Thomas Seminary in Denver, Colorado, and Kenrick Seminary in St. Louis, before becoming the treasurer for the Midwest (now Western) Province of the Congregation of the Mission.
He spent 19 very happy years in Denver and was very committed to a variety of volunteer ministries. He was a valued volunteer at Rose Medical Center. He was commended for his consistency, reliability, and commitment to the clients he served at the Medical Center information desk, Project Angel Heart, and Meals on Wheels, and at St. Vincent de Paul Society. His dedication was submitted for national recognition by the Volunteers of America Colorado Branch.
When the Vincentian presence in Denver was ending, he was assigned as a Senior Confrere in Residence at Lazarist House in St. Louis, Missouri. This was a challenging move for him, still, he was known to be a great confrere to live with, a hardworking, humble man with a sincere faith and a desire to serve. He died peacefully on Monday, January 12, 2026, in Perryville, Missouri, deeply loved by his family and surrounded by his confreres.
Brother Joe was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his brothers, James and Leonard Hess, his sister, Mary Schroeder, as well as by his Vincentian confreres.
Visitation will be on Friday, January 16, beginning at 5:00 p.m. with Vigil Service at 7:00 p.m. in the Mary, Mother of God Chapel at the Apostle of Charity Residence in Perryville.
Visitation continues at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 17, with funeral Mass at 10:30 a.m. in the Mary, Mother of God Chapel, followed by Rite of Committal in the Vincentian Community Cemetery in Perryville.