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This year’s Alumni of the Year, ERNEST ‘60 and LOIS (MYER) ‘60 HESS, met while attending Lancaster Mennonite (LM). They had mutual friends and attended youth meetings at local churches. Lois shares, “In the fall after graduation, Ernie injured his hand in a farm accident. I seized the opportunity to catch his special attention by sending him a get well card. It worked!”
They both grew up on farms, Lois near Quarryville and Ernie south of Willow Street. They describe their growing up years as a nice little cocoon built around family, church, and school at the center of their lives. Ernie attended New Danville Mennonite School for elementary and middle school. His father, James H. Hess was very supportive of Christian schools and signed the petition to start New Danville Mennonite School and Lancaster Mennonite High School. He also served on the Board at LM for 37 years.
Ernie describes his transition from New Danville Mennonite School to Lancaster Mennonite High School, as a “gradual breaking out of the safe little cocoon. While LM was still cocoonish, I met Mennonites from across Pennsylvania and other nearby states. I continued to step out of the cocoon while attending Millersville University and Eastern Mennonite College (EMC). At EMC I developed friendships with people from Mennonite communities across the continent and world, including Tanzania and Kenya. Those friendships were probably what sparked our interest in overseas work.”
Lois and Ernie both attended EMC, Lois for an Associate Arts degree and Ernie for a teaching degree. After college they got married and six weeks later left for a volunteer service term in Tanzania with Eastern Mennonite Missions. Lois volunteered in the Tanzania Mennonite Church as a secretary to Bishop Kisare. Ernie volunteered as a teacher in the Musoma Alliance Secondary School. Ernie said, “Tanzania expanded our worldview. We were in a totally unfamiliar context. My students were Tanzanian. And I was working with colleagues across many different denominations.”
For 31 years, from the late 1960’s to 2000’s, Ernie rode his bicycle daily to LM where he served in various roles as Teacher, Administrator, and Guidance Counselor/Director. He also served as a pastor and overseer for several Lancaster Conference churches.
They returned to Africa again two times. Once during a sabbatical year from Ernie’s teaching and administrative roles at LM to Rosslyn Academy in Kenya, and then again in retirement to Ethiopia to teach English at Meserete Kristos College/Seminary. ”We began our life together in Africa, so we wanted to bookend it by going to Africa again to volunteer,” said Ernie. “The years teaching in Ethiopia were fulfilling and fun years!” said Lois.
Their lives have centered around serving and caring for others locally in their own community, across the U.S., and around the world. Their commitment to serving and loving others as Jesus loved and served is apparent in the way they live and demonstrate their faith in action.
Lois’ advice for students is to do something that will get you outside of your world to see how others live. “The world is becoming much more global with products, language, and refugee families coming here. The more we learn about global cultures and languages the better we can acclimate to life ourselves because the world’s cultures are all around us.”
They have two adult children, PHIL HESS ‘87 and AUDREY HESS ‘90, and four grandchildren. Lois and Ernie are active members of East Chestnut Street Mennonite Church. They enjoy backpacking, hiking, tandem bicycling, and gardening. They find renewal in walking outdoors and have completed significant hiking trails together, including Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, The Jesus Trail in Israel, The Appalachian Trail (AT), and The Camino in Spain.
Recipient of the 2023-24 LM Young Alumni of the Year Award, BEN LESHER ‘05, is the President & Founder of Parcel B Development Company. Through his work with Parcel B, Ben places an intentional emphasis on buildings that promote economic vibrancy, sustainability, and enhance the community. Ben also advocates and provides leadership for affordable housing in Lancaster through serving on the Chestnut Housing Corporation Board and on local projects.
Learn more about Ben in the next edition of Bridges, and read his full bio on our website.
