Joseph A. “Bud” Hesse

GRAVETTE, Ark.— Joseph A.”Bud” Hesse, 92, Gravette, Ark., died March 22, 2018, at his home. A funeral Mass and rosary were held at St. Stephen Catholic Church, Bentonville, Ark., March 27. His ashes will be laid to rest next to his wife, Dorothy, in the church columbarium. Arrangements have been entrusted to Stockdale-Moody Funeral Services, Rogers, Ark. Bud was born March 2, 1926 on his family’s farm northeast of Hartington in Cedar County, to Franz Joseph and Mary (Wortmann) Hesse. He was one of 10 siblings and the youngest of the four boys. He married his wife, Dorothy Kube, Sept. 7, 1959, at St. Rose Catholic Church, Crofton. They had eight children, Jolene (husband Ralph Carter) of the Joplin area; Steve (wife Kim Barta), Fayetteville, Ark.; Judy (husband Kevin Vance), Bentonville, Ark.; Marilyn (husband Chuck Boecker), Bentonville, Ark.; Mark, Gravette, Ark.; Kent (fiancee Teresa Williams) of Bella Vista, Ark.; Karen,Gravette, Ark.; and Valerie (husband Tim Wright), Fayetteville, Ark. He was preceded in death by his wife, his parents, and seven of his siblings. Bud is survived by his children; 21 grandchildren; six greatgrandchildren; his sisters, Betty Foxhoven and Elsie Lauer; and dozens of nieces, nephews, and cousins. During World War II, Bud was deployed to the Philippines while serving in the U.S. Army. The Hesses were busy rearing their family, as well as raising Polled Hereford cattle on the Hesse homestead farm. They owned and operated the Art Center Studio of Photography in Hartington, from 1962-1979, and for a number of years both Bud and Dorothy were a “pair” of leaders in the Hartington Chamber of Commerce and the Community Development Corp. Always looking for challenges, in 1979, they pulled up their roots and relocated to Bentonville, Ark., where they started a new studio, Woodland Photography. Bud also worked on the maintenance crews in Bella Vista and the Walmart sign shop in its infancy. A devout Catholic, he was an early participant in the development of St. Stephen Parish in Bentonville, where he was active as an usher and greeter. He loved working on the farm, cultivating the vegetable gardens, and maintaining the yards and landscaping. He could be found on his Kubota tractor, brushogging pastures, even at the age of 90. Memorials may be made to the St Stephen’s Building Fund, 1300 NE J Street, Bentonville AR 72712.