Gerhard Harold Hartwig
April 2, 1943 - December 26, 2020
Gerhard "Gary" Harold Hartwig, Grafton, passed away December 26th, 2020. A private family funeral service will be held Thursday, December 31st at the First Shell Rock Lutheran Church in Northwood. Gary was born April 2, 1943 to Harold and Verna Hartwig. Gary graduated from St. Ansgar High School in 1961. He was married to Jean (Hofland) for 57 years. They had three children Scott, Todd and Tammy. They raised their family and lived in Northwood until 2017 when they moved to Grafton. Gary joined the National Guard upon his high school graduation. Gary worked as a mechanic and could fix about anything. He became the transportation director of Northwood-Kensett Schools where he worked for 35 years. He took great pride in his work even winning awards from the State of Iowa due to passing many bus inspections. He had the reputation for having the cleanest fleet of school buses in the state. He enjoyed the many friendships he had with his bus drivers over the years. He had many stories of the children he drove to and from school every day until he retired. Gary had many interests and talents. Many memories were made fishing, camping and attending rendezvous with his family. Wood working and carving were his favorite hobbies. He has left behind many works of art for his family to cherish. He also spent time in the kitchen and had many requests for his barbecue chicken. Gary will be remembered as a loving and devoted husband, father and grandfather. Left to cherish his memory are his wife, Jean; son, Scott (Tammy) Hartwig of Peshtigo, Wisconsin; son, Todd (Jen) Hartwig, Spring Valley, Wisconsin; daughter, Tammy (Tim) Grafton, Iowa. Grandchildren Tyler & Nicholas Hartwig; Kelly Hartwig (Jake); Braeden Harer; Travis and Tianna Charlson. Great Grandchildren Mila and Chloe Hartwig; Markus Fredrickson. He was preceded in death by his parents Harold and Verna Hartwig; father and mother-in-law Ira and Loretta Hofland; brother David Hartwig; sister and brother-in-law Marjory and Delmer Daniels. Memorial contributions may be made to the Parkinson's Foundation in Gary's name.
