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“Three months before he went to the Army during World War II as an 18-year-old, Leon Hesser met Florence Life. They fell in love. When he returned home from the war two years later, they married as soon as he turned 21.
As members of The Greatest Generation, both Leon and Florence have had distinguished careers; he in the Foreign Service, U.S. Agency for International Development, Department of State; she as Professor and Director of the Reading Center at The George Washington University in Washington, DC.
Leon attributes his career in relieving global hunger and poverty to his being fascinated as a young soldier by the differences in culture and agriculture in The Philippines and Japan from those which he had grown up with in the Midwest of the United States.”
ZigZagPass: Love and War A Memoir
Leon Hesser
An Endearing Love Story
that blossoms during World War II
About the Author
Leon & Florence Hesser
At age 30, Florence Hesser convinced Leon to sell their farm business and enter Purdue University as a freshman. It was so much easier than farming that Leon stayed on and earned a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics. He then spearheaded programs to increase food production in
20 nations of Asia, Africa, and the former
Soviet Union.
When Florence was 35, Leon convinced her to enter Purdue as a freshman. She ultimately earned an Ed.D. As Professor of Education at The George Washington University she became well-acquainted with President and Mrs. Carter while their daughter, Amy, was in her after-school program for four years.
In November 2000, the Hessers retired to sunny Naples, Florida, where Leon writes books while they enjoy the early morning sights and sounds of this southern paradise.
