OFFICER JOHN F. HARTMAN
BADGE 613
SDPD 04/29/1966 - 11/19/1974
11/28/1942 - 07/29/2022
THE THIN BLUE LINE
On Friday, July 29, John Francis Hartman Sr., a beloved husband, brother, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather passed away at his home in Okmulgee, OK.
He was seventy-nine years old.
Born in Rock Island, Illinois in 1942, he grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. He moved to Lemon Grove, California approximately one year after graduating high school. John was training to be an Olympic athlete in men's gymnastics (rings and pommel horse) and joined the Army when the Special Services program was designed for these athletes. An error on his recruitment form placed him in the elite 82nd Airborne Infantry unit instead.
In 1963 he was stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and that same year he married his wife, Margaret Catherine “Cathy” Young. He served in the 82nd Airborne Regiment/307 Engineer Battalion until 1966.
He joined the San Diego Police Department in 1966 where he worked as a patrol officer and participated in the Police Olympics. In 1974 he was forced to retire due to back injuries.
In 1975 he completed his bachelor’s degree in Public Administration at San Diego State University and for a time taught Criminal Justice classes on U.S. Navy ships. He later became a real estate broker and mortgage broker in La Mesa, California and owned Hartman and Associates for many years.
John and Cathy moved to Oklahoma in 2010 where they invested in real estate and were busy maintaining their rental properties.
John will be remembered as a kind and caring person who worked tirelessly as a volunteer for organizations that benefited veterans and retired police officers. He served as District 7 Commander for the VFW in Oklahoma as well as being VFW 1189 Post commander for many years. He also served in VFW and American Legion posts in San Diego, and was actively involved with SDPOA, RFPA, the Elks Lodge and the Moose Lodge.
He was preceded in death by brothers Eugene and Jimmy. He is survived by his wife of fifty-nine years Cathy, brother Leonard, daughters Peggy (Fowler), Elizabeth (Valles) and son John Jr. as well as eight grandchildren, 8 great-grandchildren with two more great-grandbabies on the way. A memorial will be held for John on September 2 at the VFW 1189 hall in Okmulgee, Oklahoma with a Celebration of Life and internment services to follow in San Diego, California in October.
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