Robert Hessong is a man of many interests and hobbies. His Hessong and Johnson (his mother's lineage) families were early settlers of Marion County, Indiana. John Johnson, his great, great, great- grandfather, was the buyer of an original 80- acre land grant farm located where our Indiana State Fair exists. The Hessong ancestors came in a covered wagon in the 1830's from Frederick, Maryland, to plant Ebenezer Lutheran Church. His ancestors were farmers. As a kid on a farm, bordered by 79th Street and Ditch Road, he raised chickens, sold eggs and built an 18 X 20 log cabin with his Johnson grandfather by felling trees with a crosscut saw. Bob graduated from Broad Ripple High School and began his study of dairy production at Purdue in 1953. With the military draft lurking, he joined the Army midway through college and spent time with an artillery battalion in Darmstadt, Germany.
After his service, he returned and completed his B.S. degree from Purdue. After a year of farming, allergies ended this endeavor. Bob returned to Purdue to add history and education courses which would certify him for secondary education teaching. At Lawrence Central High School, he taught science - biology and botany. But he listened as fellow teachers explored even more education. He was accepted at Ball State to pursue a doctorate. In order to qualify for his ED.D degree, he became a counselor at Howe High School. With his Educational Administration major and cognates in Counseling and Curriculum, Butler University hired him as a teacher in the Education Department. During his 25 years on their faculty he supervised about 500 student teachers, authored Foundations of Education by Hessong and Weeks and became a full professor in rank.
Bob is the father of Jennifer, Valorie, Brent, and Natalie; grandfather of seven children and great-grandfather of seven. For 47 years he has been step- father to Mark and Paul and step- grandfather to three great-grandchildren.
Retirement did not slow Bob. When he retired, he built a blacksmith shop and did blacksmithing. He loves photography and making copper roses and lamps. One of his proudest achievements is that he and his wife, Kathy, were on the founding team that formed the Greater Indianapolis Habitat for Humanity. They reside in Hoosier Village.
Bob grew up as a Lutheran but he and Kathy together became Methodists and have always been very active in the church. Allisonville was fortunate to welcome the Hessongs when the church they were attending closed. You will be blessed by getting to know them.
