Alford Hess

Kerrville Alford Elmer Berge was born on December 31, 1918 in Denver Colorado to Norwegian immigrant parents and was the sixth of eight children. The children were orphaned at a young age. He passed away on August 8, 2009 in Kerrville, Texas.

quotAlfquot and his younger brother, Harry, were soon adopted by a ranching couple, Emma and Amos Hess of Meeker, Colorado. Alf spent many happy years on the ranch with his new family, growing up to be a cheerful and kind person. On the ranch, he learned many skills including uranium mining and electrical engineering, which were put to good use in later life. He graduated from Rio Blanco County High School in Meeker, Colorado.

Alf joined the U.S. Army Air Corps on December 8, 1941. After attending Aviation Cadet School to become a navigator he was commissioned a second lieutenant. In World War II, quotRudyquot as he became known, flew over 100 missions over quotthe Burma Humpquot in C46s from India to China supplying the B29s for the bombing of Japan. Volunteering again for the Korean Conflict, He flew 50 combat missions in B26 attack bombers. His decorations include the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with two oakleaf clusters for Outstanding Airmanship.

In 1947, he married his lifelong partner, Erma Grace Cude Summerrow, a WWII widow with two children, Earlayne and Mike, both under age five. For the next 23 years during Rudys military career, the family moved across the US and to Europe where Rudy served on the Inspector General Team at USAFE Headquarters in Wiesbaden, Germany.

Returning to Denver, Colorado in 1963, Rudy lead a nuclear weapons school at Lowry Air Force Base before his retirement in 1964. As a Civil Servant at Lowry, he continued teaching aviation electronics. He then earned his Bachelor of Science Degree with Honors in only three years from Denver Community College. With his degree in hand, he became Administrator of the Aircraft Electronics School at Lowry. He retired again in 1985 from government service.

Grace and Rudy soon sold their Denver home and over the next nine years traveled the Western US. They also worked during this time with the National Park Service at Flagg Ranch, located between Yellowstone National Park and Jackson, Wyoming. They assisted and were part of the evacuation from the Great 1988 Yellowstone Fires. Rudy was happiest during these years, climbing telephone poles, repairing snowmobiles and driving tractors at the age of 75. Grace was the ranch gardener and behind the scenes quotcamp grandmotherquot.

Grace and Rudy came to Kerrville in 1999 to join their daughter, Earlayne. These final years have been full of joy where their friends from Flagg Ranch also settled and they met new friends through their church family. Grace passed away in 2008.

Rudy is survived by his daughter Earlayne Chance of Kerrville, son, Mike Hess of Australia, and two nieces from his Berge family. He is also survived by five grandchildren and six greatgrandchildren who are scattered around the world from California and Australia to Scotland.

A Memorial Service will be held at First United Methodist Church, 321 Thompson Drive on at 2 p.m. on Thursday, August 13, 2009. ation will be held afterwards in the church Fellowship Hall, hosted by the Keystone Class.

Memorial contributions may be sent to First United Methodist Church of Kerrville, or to a charity of ones choice.

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