Howard H. Bess
Jan 30, 1928 -
Apr 1, 2023
Howard Bess of Palmer, Alaska, born Jan. 30, 1928, in Fairbury, Ill., son of Ernest and Helen (Snyder) Bess, beloved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, uncle, pastor, friend, athlete, singer, follower of Jesus and champion of the disenfranchised, passed away on Saturday, April 1, 2023, at Pioneer Home in Palmer, at the age of 95.
Bess grew up in Fairbury, one of seven children, and graduated Fairbury Township High School. He played football, basketball and baseball in high school, but excelled on the gridiron. He graduated high school at age 17, and earned all-conference honors for football that year. In the autumn after graduation, he attended Illinois State University in Normal, Ill., where as a freshman he started on the varsity football team as a blocking back. He was 13 when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and knew when he turned 18 he would be drafted - and so enlisted in the Army in 1946. After serving two years - including a year in Korea - Bess returned home to work in the family business. In September 1950, Howard married Shirley June Compton and, in fall 1951, he enrolled at Wheaton College as a sophomore, where he continued to excel in football as an all-conference starter at center and linebacker on league championship teams that lost only four games in three years, and where, in 1952, he and Shirley welcomed Philip, the first of their three children.
After graduating from Wheaton in 1954, Bess spent the next four years at the Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary at Northwestern University. Upon completion of his Bachelor of Divinity degree he accepted the call of the American Baptist Convention (ABC) to start a church in Bloomington, Calif. A second child, Jill, arrived in 1959. In 1962, again at the behest of the ABC, and shortly after the birth of Howard and Shirley's third child, Kay, they moved their young family to Goleta, Calif., to start another church, where his unique call to ministry began to take shape.
It was at the First Baptist Church of Goleta Valley - which later took the name Cambridge Drive Baptist Church - that Bess began to engage ideas from the Civil Rights Movement about fair housing and equal opportunity. He encouraged women to serve as deacons in the church - uncommon at the time among Baptists - and later also welcomed a woman as associate pastor. From his interest in fair housing came the first of many successful nonprofit enterprises he helped to found over the years, including the successful low-income housing community Villa La Esperanza in Goleta, of which he was most proud. During this time in Goleta, Howard and Shirley welcomed several foster children and foreign exchange students into their home, reflecting the value they placed upon Christian hospitality.
It was also in Goleta, in the mid-1960s, that Howard first became aware that gay and lesbian people were in his congregation and in need of pastoral care and began advocating for their rights.
After 28 years, Howard's marriage to Shirley ended in 1978.
In June 1980, Howard married Darlene Wilson Bess and welcomed two adult stepchildren into the family. He and Darlene moved to Anchorage, Alaska, where they began a new life in the Last Frontier. In 1988, he and Darlene moved from the big city of Anchorage to Palmer to enjoy small town living, much like the towns where they were raised.
In 1995, Bess wrote a book called "Pastor I Am Gay" that chronicled his experience ministering to gays and lesbians and thereafter partially defined his public ministry.
While in Palmer, Bess founded The Church of the Covenant, where he remained pastor until his retirement in 2008. During that time, he was also active in a variety of community organizations. He helped found the Palmer Arts Council, Daybreak Mental Health Services, the Institute of Welcoming Resources, Radio Free Palmer, Valley Christian Charities, the Valley Christian Conference, Valley Residential Services and paid pastoral visits to inmates at the Palmer Correctional Facility. Bess also had a popular and sometimes controversial weekly column in the Valley Frontiersman, the local newspaper, for over two decades. He was proud of and never shied away from a challenging conversation about religion, politics, community vision and taking care of those in need.
Howard's happiest moments were spent loving and caring for his wife Darlene, even as late in their marriage she navigated and weathered the ravages of Parkinson's disease. The two of them were inseparable and loved each other deeply. He died having never suffered any major illness and with his mental faculties intact, just six weeks after Darlene's death.
Howard's family believes he would like to be remembered as one who tried to follow as closely as he could the teachings of Jesus.
Howard Bess was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 43 years, Darlene; his parents; stepmother, Bernice Bess; multiple siblings - who together with Howard formed a fine gospel choir - including brothers, Willard and Ray; and sisters, Wilma, Eula Mae (Veatch), Lois (Gerber), Evelyn (Convis); and stepsister, Rochelle Hoelscher.
Howard is survived by his children, Philip Bess of South Bend, Ind., Jill Bess Neimeyer (Joel) of Anchorage, and Kay Christine Bess, of Franklin, Tenn.; stepchildren, Valerie Pigg Rozzi (John) of Palmer, and Marty Pigg (Kim) of Portugal; 11 grandchildren, Jennifer Bess, Peter Bess, Alexander Bess, Kevin Neimeyer, Katie Neimeyer, Esther Klassen, Cedar Rabun, Summer Kathol, Zoe Viola, Brook Pigg and Raleigh Pigg; 12 great-grandchildren; and 17 nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, May 27, 2023, at 3 p.m., at the Palmer Depot. In lieu of flowers, his children invite contributions in his memory to the Church of the Covenant in Palmer, the Palmer Arts Council or the local churches, charities or community arts organizations of your choice.
