Fuiten Rose and Hoyt Funeral Home

Hesselgesser, 90, a longtime resident of the McMinnville community, died Sunday afternoon, March 5, 2017, at the Village at Hillside in McMinnville, Ore.A celebration of life service will be held at 1 p.m. Friday, March 10 at the Fuiten, Rose & Hoyt Funeral Home, 2308 Pacific Ave., in Forest Grove, Ore., with Pastor Steven R. Brockdorf, of the Reformation Lutheran Church in Hillsboro, officiating. Concluding rites and interment will follow at the Gales Creek Cemetery, 7675 N.W. Soda Springs Road in Gales Creek. Family and friends are invited to attend a reception immediately following the chapel service, to be held in the fellowship room of the funeral home.Delmar Eugene Hesselgesser was born July 3, 1926, in Chadron, Neb., the son of the late Zellen Hesselgesser and Flora (Wilson) Hesselgesser. He was raised and received his education in Kelso, having been a graduate of Kelso High School class of 1944. He was a veteran of World War II, having joined the Army Air Corps in 1944. Del served for four years. Following his discharge from the service, Del, attended the Western Washington University in Bellingham, having received his bachelor degree in elementary education.Del was united in marriage to Helen Louise Sweet on July 19, 1944, in the Rose Valley Church in Kelso. They celebrated their 72nd wedding anniversary this past July. Following their marriage they resided in the communities of Bellingham, Wash., Ilwaco, Wash., Hillsboro, Ore., Westminster, Colo., and McMinnville, Ore., where they have resided for the past 32 years.He taught elementary education in the Hillsboro School District for several years and later as the principal for the Gaston Elementary School for several years. He then went to work for Forest Fiber Products in Gaston in their sales department. Del worked in the timber industry for many years, until he retired.Among his special interests he enjoyed gardening and playing with his weekly poker club in McMinnville. Del was also an avid golfer, having resided for many... (Longview Daily News)