Elaine Hess sits with her grandchildren, Addison and Aubree, on the porch. "I treasure the fact that my parents had time with my kids. If I didn't retire soon, I would miss that opportunity," Hess says, noting she plans to retire from teaching next year. "I'm one of those people that, I'm never going to be ready to retire, but family is also a priority. I wanted that time with my family."
Elaine Hess, a member of the Southview Grace Brethren Church (Mark Abel, pastor) in Ashland, Ohio, was featured recently in the Wooster, Ohio, Daily Record. A portion of the story appears below. To read the complete story, click here.
ALL THINGS D.C. MAKE ELAINE HESS SMILE
When not teaching, Elaine Hess focuses on ‘faith, family and friends
NORWAYNE DISTRICT– A passion for history keeps eighth grade social studies teacher Elaine Hess returning to the nation’s capital time after time, and even after 61 visits to Washington, D.C., she still enjoys it.
“The things D.C. for me, I never grow tired of it,” she said, “because you’re always going with somebody who’s seeing it for the first time. You see it through their eyes.”
Many of Hess’ trips to Washington have been with her students at Norwayne Middle School, where she has taught for 32 years.
In recent years, she has tried to include in the trip something related to veterans, something for which she has a passion. In the last two years, students have had the opportunity to greet Honor Flights coming into Washington from Dayton. …
When she’s not working as a teacher, Hess likes to focus on her “faith, family and friends.” She lives in Ashland County on a farm with her husband where she raises beef cattle. Recently, they put a miniature log cabin on their property for their granddaughters to play in.
“That has just been tons of fun,” she said. “It’s a real focal point.”
She is very involved with Southview Grace Brethren Church in Ashland, particularly with the church’s annual Wifflefest, a “huge” wiffle ball tournament with about 600 registrants that takes place on the Fourth of July.
“It’s a lot of fun,” she said. “It’s a chance to give back to the community.”
Also in July, Hess goes back to Washington, D.C., with a church group. While there, they help with an inner-city church in Washington.
“Her passion is teaching and serving, those two things really sum up Elaine. When she gets to teach the hands-on history that way, she’s in her element,” said Mark Abel, senior pastor at Southview Grace Brethren. “She’s as good as any tour guide you can get.”
