STILLWATER, Okla. --  Marvin G. Hess, who spent much of his life advancing the sport of wrestling, died in Bountiful, Utah on Saturday.  He was 83.

Services will be held at Larkin Mortuary in Salt Lake City, Utah on Wednesday, August 19 at noon.

Born in Farmington, Utah in 1926, Marvin G. Hess left an indelible mark on the sport of wrestling.  He played overlapping roles as a coach and contributor.  In 25 years at the University of Utah, he posted a dual meet record of 222 victories against 102 defeats and kept the Utes competitive nationally without full scholarships.Hess served as chairman of the NCAA rules committee, was a member of the Olympic wrestling committee and one of the original six organizers of USA Wrestling.  He was instrumental in starting Freestyle wrestling in Utah and the Rocky Mountain area.  He sponsored the first dozen or so Freestyle tournaments in Utah, providing organization, officials and awards, and also directed the state high school championships.

But it was as executive vice president of the National Wrestling Coaches Association that Hess best showed his tireless work ethic for the sport.  He became a member of the NWCA executive committee in 1962, and served as its president in '67.  Then he became the "full-time staff" as executive vice president.  When he took the helm in 1971, he found a struggling organization with an annual budget of less than $5,000.  Today, that budget, and the scope of the association, is 30 times as large.

Hess inaugurated the East-West All-Star Classic.  He developed the national tournament T-shirt concession which kept the organization solvent, and spent countless hours behind the sales counter.  He managed all the details of NWCA membership.  As one of his colleagues put it, "He has been the backbone of the coaches association for nearly 30 years."

Hess never competed in wrestling, but was a basketball, football and track star in high school, All-State in all three sports.  At the University of Utah, he was all-conference in football and All-American as a high jumper.  He coached football for nine years and track for 14, along with his wrestling duties.  He continued to coach until he retired in 1995.

He was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member in 1992 and was also inducted into other Halls of Fame including the Utah Old Times Athletes Hall of Fame and the Crimson Club Hall of Fame.

Hess is preceded in death by his parents, his sisters Georgana and Marilyn, his brother James, his son Eric and his wife Barbara.  He is survived by his daughter Laura (Kevin) Jenkins; three granddaughters; Melissa Jensen, Kirsten (Mike) Maw, and Sabrina Jensen; grandson Jared (Krista) Jenkins; and great-grandchildren, Isla Grace Kaauwai, Jayden and Isabelle Jenkins; brother-in-law, John M. (Grace) Weakland, nephew, Norman (Chris) Weakland.