I did not know Neil Hess, although I surely knew of him.

Hess’s reputation was — and still is — huge in the community he left behind some years ago.

Hess died this week, but I’m so glad and grateful that one of his shining legacies lives on in the form of that play they perform every summer on the floor of Palo Duro Canyon.

“Texas” is a musical that tells the story through song, dance, music and lots of color of the settling of the Texas Panhandle. It became Neil Hess’s “baby” over the many years he served as artistic director of the musical.

My wife and I have been to the play, well, countless times during our 21-plus years living in Amarillo. We enjoy it every single year. We plan in just a few days to take our granddaughter, her brother and her parents to the play to watch the spectacle unfold in the 2016 version of “Texas.”

No tribute to Hess, though, cannot avoid mentioning the unceremonious manner in which he was terminated as artistic director of the play. The Panhandle Heritage Foundation board committed — in my view, at least — a monumental PR blunder when it fired Hess and then spent several days avoiding any explanation as to why it did what it did.

Moreover, Hess had just gone to Austin to receive the Texas Medal of Arts from then-Gov. Rick Perry; the award commemorated his many years contributing to the state’s rich arts culture.

Then he was fired.

Well, the art he helped create remains for visitors to enjoy.

We will continue to do so for as long as we are able to visit the canyon theater.

Rest in peace, Neil Hess … and thank you for all you did to enliven and enrich our community.