A handful of Virgin Islanders were among the 1,000 people who packed New York's Park Avenue Synagogue on Monday for the funeral of Hess Oil founder Leon Hess. Hess died May 7 at the age of 85.
Leading the V.I. delegation were Gov. Charles W. Turnbull and former Gov. Roy L. Schneider, along with St. Lucia Prime Minister John Compton. Amerada Hess' two major Caribbean subsidiaries were in St. Croix and St. Lucia.
Others invited from the Virgin Islands were Alexander Moorhead Jr., a top official of what was Hess Oil V.I. Corp. and now is a joint venture with Venezuela's oil company known as Hovensa; attorneys Britain Bryant of St. Croix and George Dudley of St. Thomas; and former Sen. Holland L. Redfield.
V.I. Delegate to Congress Donna L. Christian-Christensen issued a release Monday praising Hess for his significant contributions to the Virgin Islands and voicing regret that she couldn't attend the funeral.
The V.I. delegation reportedly was flown to New York on a Hess jet.
Hess was remembered by his children and grandchildren as a hard-working family man who loved the oil business and his football team, the New York Jets, according to the Associated Press report on the funeral.
