A Celebration of the Life & Times of Swarthmore’s Eleanor Kay “Pete” Hess

Eleanor Kay “Pete” Hess, Beloved Teacher, Coach, Mentor

Dear Women In Coaching Blog Readers:
On a beautiful spring day with flowers abloom more than a 100 family members, friends, and admirers gathered in the Swarthmore Friends Meeting House (Pa.) to pay tribute to Eleanor Kay “Pete” Hess, who passed away in December of 2011 at the age of 87.  For over six decades, Pete was a fixture in the women’s sport scene in the Philadelphia area. Arriving on the Swarthmore campus in 1957, she chaired the Department of Physical Education and Athletics for Women from 1965 to 1979.  After a merger of the men’s and women’s departments, she assumed the role of associate chair of the Department of Physical Education and Athletics from 1979 until her retirement in 1990.

An inductee into the Pennsylvania Lacrosse Hall of Fame and the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame, Pete served as a lacrosse official for over 30 years, teaching many to officiate along the way.  Devoted to the sport, she continued to umpire well into her 80s.

Pete’s love for her students, women’s sport, and the higher purposes of education emanated from her like a life force. Her influence was felt by those closest to her as well as untold others who benefitted from her leadership on numerous associations, boards, and organizations.

Ernie Prudente, professor emeritus, shared insights about Pete having known her from the time she was a girl growing up in the same neighborhood with him through their years working together at Swarthmore.  She earned her nickname while playing with the boys, emerging in high school and later college as a “true scholar athlete”, competing at a time when sporting pursuits were thought to threaten women’s health and well-being.

According to her brother Jim, among the things that Pete most loved were visits to his seaside home where she was the “star of the show” among her nieces and nephews, taking them to the boardwalk for ice cream and engaging in all manner of fun.  He recalled that when they were children, her affinity for Christmas led her to put up a tree in her room where she would array with great anticipation the gifts she would give to family members at holiday time.

A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Pete maintained her ties with her alma mater, serving as a “wonderful mentor” to Ann Sage, the coach who would take over the reigns of the field hockey and women’s lacrosse programs in 1971.  About Pete’s influence, Ann offered a view of life for a female coach in that era, as she found herself cleaning, mowing, and lining Hill Field, at one point doing so while she was seven months pregnant.  During weekly phone calls, Ann drew strength from the vision that Pete had for women’s sport and the hope that things would get better.

Pete’s former students spoke about the fact that when they played for her they were unaware of the significant role she was playing in shaping women’s sport for future generations.  About Pete’s influence, Elizabeth (Liz) Gilbert Osterman, said, “She taught us to be better, she challenged us, and she made us into a team”.  For Liz, her aspiration to become a U.S. national team player was realized under Pete’s guidance and direction.  Observing some of the challenges Pete faced coaching at Swarthmore, Sue Juram McVaugh wryly said, “Never had a coach made so much of so little”.  With teams long on questions and short on fitness, Pete resorted to implementing zone defenses well before they became a staple among lacrosse coaches.

Retired director of athletics and field hockey coach at Bryn Mawr College and friend, Jen Shillingford, described Pete as someone “possessed of clear views and unique leadership abilities”.  More than one woman who had Pete as an officiating partner remembered times during games when they would be expecting Pete to make a call only to realize that she had become absorbed in actually teaching a young player a certain skill.

Echoed throughout the service were warm memories of a colleague, friend, teacher, and mentor who was fair-minded and judicious in her assessments, endlessly fun to be around, open-hearted, intellectually bright and engaged, charming, generous, and kind.

In reflecting on Pete’s impact, Candi Parry, long-time North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Supervisor of Field Hockey and Lacrosse Officials, who was unable to be at the service because she was officiating a game at Lake Erie College in Ohio, wrote to convey these thoughts, “Most of all, I will remember how she always managed to see the ‘big picture’, and to vote on decisions according to what was right for the game and the women involved!  Not for herself, or Swarthmore, but for ALL the women athletes involved.  I shall surely miss the smile she shared with everyone she came in contact with.  She will be missed by so many friends and all the athletes she served as a mentor!”

Kindest regards – Ellen
Ellen J. Staurowsky, Ed.D., Professor, Department of Sport Management, Drexel University