Jonathan Morris Hess

CHAPEL HILL-Jonathan Morris Hess, 52, of Chapel Hill, died suddenly on Monday, April 9, 2018. He is survived by his wife of 26 years, Beth Sheba Posner; his daughters Rebecca, Lily and Amelia; and his siblings Carl (Carol), Laura, and Roger (Cassandra). He is the son of the late Robert L. Hess and Frances Aaron Hess.

Jonathan was the Moses M. and Hannah L. Malkin Distinguished Professor of Jewish History and Culture and served as Chair of the Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He also was the Director for the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies, building it into one of the premier Jewish Studies programs in the country. He had been a member of the Carolina faculty since 1993, joining it immediately after earning his doctorate in comparative literature and literary theory. He was educated at Yale, Johns Hopkins and the University of Pennsylvania, where he received his Ph.D. He was a renowned scholar of German cultural, intellectual, and literary history, with a particular focus in German-Jewish studies and anti-Semitism. He authored four books, edited two additional volumes, and produced numerous peer-reviewed articles.

His significant professional achievements are dwarfed by his accomplishments as a loving husband, father, son, brother, uncle, and friend. His warmth and humor were a constant source of comfort and joy to those who knew him. Jonathan’s greatest pride, shared with his wife, was in the kindness, strength, and brilliance of each of his daughters, with whom he shared a love of music, academic curiosity, and laughter.

Funeral services will be held 2:00 p.m. Thursday, April 12, 2018 at Judea Reform Congregation Synagogue, 1933 W Cornwallis Road, Durham, NC 27705. Officiating will be Rabbi Larry Bach. Burial will follow at Judea Reform Congregation Cemetery, 2560 Jones Ferry Rd, Chapel Hill, NC 27516.