Joann R. Hartman

Joann R. (Rutter) Hartman passed away peacefully at York Hospital on August 6, 2018, surrounded by her husband of 66 years, Stew, and their two sons, Terry and Scott. Born on June 14, 1931, in York, PA, to George A. and Ruth S. (Golden) Rutter, she was the youngest of three daughters. As a child, she enjoyed dressing her cats in doll clothes and pushing them around in a doll baby carriage, she also enjoyed helping her Dad in his workshop and quickly learned all he taught her, which some believed to be beyond the skills of women. Joann attended North York High School where she played girl’s basketball, was the manager of the boy’s basketball team, was a driver for the boy’s soccer team, and appeared in the “Operetta.” While her future husband played on both the soccer and basketball teams, her first “date” with him was not until the last night of the Operetta. Upon graduating high school in 1949, she began working for her father, George Rutter, calculating payments to dairy famers for milk they shipped to Rutter Brother’s Dairy, and became the first female stockholder of Rutters. She married Stew at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church on June 7, 1952, after he graduated from Franklin and Marshall College. Not long after, Stew received orders from the Marine Corps to begin training at Camp Pendleton, California for shipment to Korea. Joann immediately said, at the age of 22, that they would pack the car and head on a cross-country trip to California, the beginning of many travels for them. After Joann gave birth to two sons and they started elementary school, she attended Millersville University (then College) and obtained her undergraduate and master degrees in elementary education and a concentration of courses that allowed her to become a reading specialist, teaching her sons the importance of education and studying. She initially taught fourth graders at Stony Brook Elementary before becoming a reading specialist for students of all grades at several elementary schools in the Central York District. Joann and Stew were avid travelers and took their sons on lengthy car trips throughout the U.S. to see most of our National Parks, monuments and important sites in the history of our nation. They also took their sons on trips to the beach and mountains, and outside the U.S. to France, England, Spain, Portugal and other nations. To please her sons, Joann rode a camel in Morocco and went scuba diving with her sons in the Virgin Islands. Joann retired from Central School District after her son Terry received his law degree from Georgetown University and son Scott received his MBA from Duke University because she wanted to be able to enjoy the opportunities available to Stew for business travel. The two of them subsequently traveled to China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, the Winter Olympics, the World Cup, Italy, Greece and much of Europe. Decades before HGTV, Joann loved decorating her home and making it a beautiful place for family and friends. She enjoyed the beach and spending time in Florida. She was an avid gardener like her Dad and taught her sons those skills. Joann loved holidays, and always made them special for family and friends. One of her favorite songs was “Celebration” and she believed strongly in celebrating life with family and friends. Through her example, Joann taught the importance of family, high standards, hard work, integrity, love of country and enjoying life. Joann is survived by her husband, Stewart E. Hartman, Jr., her sons, Judge Terrence S. Hartman of McLean, Virginia, and Scott E. Hartman and his wife Catherine Hartman of York, a granddaughter Sara A. Hartman of New York, New York (a teacher like her grandmother), and a grandson Christopher N., who last month returned to York with Hilarie Hawley and their rescue puppies (Duncan and Bella) after obtaining his MBA from George Washington University to join his father in the family business. A celebration of life service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, August 11, 2018 at St. Peter's Lutheran Church, 947 North George Street. Viewings will be held from 7-9 p.m. on Friday at Heffner Funeral Chapel & Crematory, Inc., 1551 Kenneth Rd. in York and 10-11 a.m. on Saturday at the church. Burial will be in Prospect Hill Cemetery in York.