Tate Brandon Hess
A uniquely incredible young man, our so very beloved son, brother, nephew, cousin, and friend, Tate Brandon Hess, began a new journey after thirty adventurous years. A tragic accident took Tate's well-lived young life, along with his two faithful dog companions, Cassidy and Baxter, on July 2, 2005. The one-truck accident occurred along Swan Lake on Highway 83 near Bigfork—only 20 miles from where he was driving to meet his dear family at the Flathead River Hess Family Montana home that Tate loved so much. He was on his way to celebrate the Fourth of July weekend to hike, to fish, to practice archery, and to share special family time together. With his great passion for life, he fought for four courageous hours to live despite the gravity of his injuries in this unsurvivable accident. His family expresses their deepest gratitude to the many volunteers and responders who tried so desperately and compassionately to save him.
His accomplished journey here on earth has now ended, but the legacy of his life and his beautiful spirit lives on. Tate began his life's journey on May 22, 1975 as the first born child of Jim and Bonni Hess. He was later joined by brother Colby Tyler and sister Brittany Shandell. He grew up on Lake Sammamish in Issaquah, Washington. He attended elementary school at Sunny Hills Elementary, middle school at Pine Lake, and graduated from Issaquah High School in 1993. He then followed his heart to Montana—where both of his parents were born and raised. He attended Montana State University, joined the Sigma Chi Fraternity (of which both his father and brother Colby are members), and graduated in 2000 with a degree in Construction Engineering.
Tate lived in the Bozeman, Mont., area for most of the past 12 years where he studied, worked, and spent any possible free time fishing the rivers and hiking the mountains of Montana that he loved so much and knew like his backyard. With his great love of the open roads, Tate also enjoyed motorcycling. His zest for life, passion for knowledge, and always wanting to explore new horizons made him an expert on history and let him develop his talents for writing, music, photography and so much more. He lived his life to the fullest with purpose and strength. Since 2002, he has been employed as a Project Manager at Cascade Homes, Inc. in Bozeman, Montana and had planned to break ground on his own home in Gallatin Gateway this summer.
There was a celebration service of Tate's life on July 9. The service was held at the Hess Family home, known as River's Edge. In keeping with Tate's love of the outdoors and River's Edge, the service was held there, in view of the Swan Mountains and Flathead River under the Big Sky. He will be deeply missed and forever remembered by his parents, Jim and Bonni Hess, 27-year old brother Colby, and 23-year old sister Brittany, as well as all of the Stukey and Hess family aunts, uncles, and cousins; his Sigma Chi brothers; his Cascade Home co-workers, all of his many friends; and all of those who knew him, and respected and loved him so much. Also in keeping with Tate's dedicated support of his beloved sister Brittany's courageous four year battle against Alveolar Soft Part Sarcoma (ASPS), the family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to The Alliance Against ASPS at www.alveolarspsarcoma.net. This will help fund desperately needed research to find an effective treatment and cure for this extremely rare cancer. For those who cannot join us at the celebration service, we ask that you remember Tate and his family in your thoughts and prayers, and honor him by living each day to the fullest and cherishing family, friends, and the beauty of this world, as he did.
Johnson Mortuary & Crematory is caring for Tate's family.