Grant Francis Hess Sr.
T/5 in 3132nd Signal Service Co
Born 1922 in NY, Died 2010
Artist
Other residence(s): Buffalo, NY; Fountain Hills, AZ
United States Army, European Theatre of Operations
College education after the war: Syracuse Univ.
Grant Hess was born on September 21, 1922 in Buffalo, NY, the older of two sons. His father was secretary/treasurer of an advertising agency.
Grant graduated from Kensington High School in Buffalo in 1940, where he was known as "Fran." The tall blue-eyed blond made the honor roll 15 times during his four years there; was a member of the riding, camera, and rifle clubs; sang in the chorus; and planned to study chemistry at Cornell.
However, he ended up working for a few years after high school—the 1941 Buffalo city directory lists him as a factory worker. And when he registered for the draft, on June 30, 1942, he was working at the Sterling Engine Co.
Grant volunteered for the Army on August 11, 1943 and eventually found his way into the 3132 Signal Service Company, traveling to Europe with the unit. A December 1944 newspaper article describes his "rare courage and coolness in the face of enemy fire on more than one occasion" for which he received the commendation of his commanding officer. The article continues: "On more than one occasion, Corp. Hess and members of his wire team were assigned to lay wire communications within a 'stone's throw of enemy front-line positions.' Although under constant mortar and 88-mm. fire, they refused to let this retard their action. 'With little regard for personal safety, they accomplished their mission without mishap, giving this unit communication lines vital to its successful operation,' Maj. Williams wrote."
Grant was discharged after the war with the rank of T/5. He then used his GI Bill benefits to earn an undergraduate degree at Syracuse University. He settled back in Buffalo, marrying Shirley Tice on October 22, 1949. They would go on to have two sons: Grant, Jr. and Scott.
Grant went to work in advertising, like his father, getting a job as assistant production manager at Comstock & Co. and earning a promotion to production manager by 1953. A 1990 newspaper article refers to him as a "retired advertising designer."
Shirley went back to work as a retail buyer after their children were grown.
In retirement, in the late 1980s, Grant and his wife moved to Fountain Hills, AZ where he used his advertising experience and graphic design ability to design the Town of Fountain Hills logo and create their official town slogan: "All that is Arizona."
A year or so before his death, Grant and Shirley moved to Albuquerque, NM. He died there on August 6, 2010 and Shirley died four months later. They are buried at Forest Lawn in Buffalo, NY.
Sources:
1930 census
1940 census
1940 Kensington HS yearbook
1941 Buffalo city directory
1942 draft card
1943 notice of his induction into the army in the Buffalo News (NY)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/841624729/?match=1&terms=grant%20f%20hess
1944 article about his military service in the Buffalo News (NY)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/842297210/?match=1
1949 engagement announcement in Buffalo Evening News (NY)
1949 marriage record
1949 wedding announcement in Buffalo Courier Express (NY)
1950 census
1953 Buffalo city directory
1990 article in the Arizona Republic (Phoenix) about his designing the logo and slogan for Fountain Hills, AZ
https://www.newspapers.com/image/122340931/?match=1&terms=grant%20hess
1993 Fountain Hills AZ phone directory
2010 VA death record
2010 Find a Grave record
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/186293647/grant-f-hess
2010 obituary in the Albuquerque Journal (NM)
2010 wife's obituary in the Buffalo News (NY)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/877502568/?match=1&terms=grant%20f%20hess