Lee Hartman

Lee Hartman was born on August 3, 1924 in Connellsville, Pennsylvania to Orville and Mildred (Wagner) Hartman and entered the gates of heaven on September 9, 2016 at 6:58 PM.   What a great celebration for this 92 year old friend to so many!

After Lee had graduated from Connellsville High School in 1942, he worked briefly as an apprentice in a factory in Pittsburg before joining the Navy in 1943 and serving in the South Pacific during World War II.  He was stationed on the troop transport ship, the USS Leonard Wood as a Radioman 2^nd Class.   During his 33 months of service he fought in five battles: 1. Saipan (Pele Group); 2. Guam; 3. Leti Gulf; 4. Luzon; and 5. Iwo Jima.  His ship was headed to Japan to join the invasion force there when the war ended.  Lee was an American patriot who loved his country with all his heart.

After the war, upon a visit with his grandparents in Oklahoma City, his cousin’s wife introduced him to Imogene Hartman on a blind date.  He was so smitten he never dated another woman declaring he would marry “Jean.”  He did on July 2, 1948 and together they celebrated this year their 68^th wedding anniversary.

God called Lee into the pastoral ministry two years after their wedding and he graduated from Oklahoma Baptist University, Shawnee, OK and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.  By the end of his schooling, Lee and Jean were the proud parents of Linda Lee, Janie Susan and Mark Stephen.   Today, Linda Laginja (Tom) and Janie Smith (Marty) also live with their families in Hot Springs Village.

Lee and Jean have been the proud grandparents of: Bethany, Christopher, Matthew, and Jonathan and six great grandchildren: Jude, Emily, Adrien, Levi, Benjamin and Jack Mark.

Lee pastored five Baptist churches in Oklahoma (FBC, Keifer; Park Place, Cushing; FBC, Ryan; FBC, Snyder) and Maryland (Sligo, Silver Springs) over the span of twenty-five years making a forever difference in the lives of thousands of people over the course of his ministry.   He was a faithful preacher of God’s Word and a loving pastor to those whom he served.  Today, heaven is populated with so many he led to Christ and helped grow in their love for God.

In his later career, Lee also served bi-vocationally as a regional Supervisor for Social Security Telecommunication Centers in Maryland and Texas.   He became so skilled in raising employee morale and productivity that he was sent all over the country training other Supervisors.  He retired in 1986.  He and Jean moved to Hot Springs Village thirty years ago.

Lee has been an avid golfer throughout their time in the Village.  Even up to his 90^th birthday, Lee could be seen on one of the golf courses in the Village at least three or four mornings every week.  He shot five holes in one and shot his age so many times over the course of these thirty years that no one could keep count.   He greatly treasured his many golfing friendships.