Gary Hartman, 63 years old, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, October 21, 2020. A fighter to the very end, Gary, was able to say goodbye to his family and enjoy one of his favorite dinners, fried fish and french fries, specially prepared by his brother, Eric. Married to his wife, Laura, for 41 years, they shared many laughs and lots of love, as evidenced by their three children, Jennifer, Amy, and Ross. Gary worked the night shift at Batesville Casket for 43 years, and although he enjoyed his time there, he was excited about retirement. He was looking forward to farming hay and riding his tractor on a more regular basis, a great day for any farmer. Gary was a huge fan of rock n’ roll and loved listening to live music. He was the king of music trivia and would pepper his family with questions about the music that was playing…”What album is this from?”, “What band is this?”, “What song is this?” “What year did it come out?”. It is no surprise his love for music led him to DJ the All Saints summer picnic at St. Martin’s for 10 years. Gary also loved playing cards including euchre, 500, and of course Crazy 8s with the grandkids. Gary enjoyed driving his golf cart up and down the road with the grandkids. He also enjoyed hunting, sometimes for deer and sometimes turtle. Many stories can be told about hunting for turtles, including how they would prepare them. It was a guys day for sure when it came time to frying the turtles or preparing turtle soup. As part of the tradition, they played the card game 7-up and whoever lost the hand was in charge of stirring the soup. Since this seemed to be a complicated game to learn, the newbies always stirred the soup.
Gary will be deeply missed by his wife Laura; children Jennifer (Scott) Weber of Yorkville, Amy (Matt) Wettering of Sunman, and Ross (Kristy) Hartman of Sunman; grandchildren Evan & Elena Weber, Jorja Wettering, and Zackery & Makenna Hartman; siblings Eric (Donna) Hartman, Steve (Karla) Hartman, Sharon (Mitch) Wilgenbusch, and Mark (Jennifer) Hartman. He is preceded in death by his parents Marcella & Gilbert Hartman, sister Cindy Gutapfel, nephew Byron Hartman, and niece Lisa Hartman.
Visitation for Gary will be on Tuesday, October 27 from 5:00 – 7:00pm at Andres-Wuestefeld Funeral Home; the Rosary will begin at 4:30. Mass of Christian Burial will be on Wednesday, October 28 at 11:00am at All Saints Parish, St. Martin’s Campus, with Fr. Ben Syberg presiding. Burial will immediately follow. Memorials can be made to Loving Hearts Hospice or All Saints Parish St. Martin’s Cemetery . Please visit www.andres-wuestefeldfh.com to offer condolences.
In compliance with the Governor’s mandate, social distancing should be observed and masks must be worn at the funeral home and church.