John Hartman

John Hartman is one of our newest residents at The Pointe. From nearby Palos Heights, John has lived in the area most of his life. With strong Irish roots, his grandfather came from Ireland, John attended Mt. Carmel High School. Being a wrestler, Mt. Carmel was the only Catholic high school in the area that had a wrestling team. John remembers taking the yellow trolley cars the 20 plus blocks each way, back and forth to school. After high school, John joined the Navy and spent 4 years training squadron pilots and readying planes before flights. He was stationed in Corpus Christi and Hawaii. When his stint with the Navy was over, John attended St. Ambrose University (near Davenport, Iowa) on his G.I. Bill. He joined the wresting team and actually got to wrestle against a national champion. John laughs as he tells the story, “The guy was 20 pounds lighter than me but he wrestled in my weight class. He was smaller, but quick and I couldn’t hold him. He beat me.” John enjoyed college life and made life long friends, including Don Conroy and his brother. Don Conroy was the fighter pilot that “The Great Santini” was based on. Played by Robert Duvall, who was nominated for an Oscar for the role, Conroy was known for his strong, unbending military style of raising his children and running the family household. John received letters from Don for years after school and throughout his adult life. After graduation, John came back to the southside of Chicago to start his life. He took a job working for Health & Meter Scales. It was a manufactring company that made medical scales, seen in hospitals and doctors’ offices. They also made household, bathroom scales. John managed the sales representatives for the company which covered the entire United States. Though he traveled often, John was usually home at least 4 days a week. He really enjoyed traveling and meeting new people. His children also attended Catholic schools and John speaks with the pride of a father over their accomplishments in life. He was quick to point out that his daughter was named Irish Queen for the world famous St. Patrick’s Day Parade held on the Southside of Chicago each year. Having never been to Ireland, John, his wife and daugther made a trip one year and spent 17 days traveling the country. When it was time for John to retire from his company, after 17 years, he wasn’t ready to sit back and take it easy. He had discovered golf later in his life and though he never took lessons, enjoyed playing with friends. To keep busy and supplement his retiremment fund, John found a job with the parks department and managed a driving range at a local, public course. He worked there for another 13 years. At 89, John still plays occasionally. Just last week, a golf buddy stopped by and John up to play a couple of holes. John admits that it is getting harder and harder to play since suffering a stroke. He also suspects that some joint pain is arthritis setting in. He remains positive though and looks forward to accompanying his friends. He jokes, “My friend is 91 and can’t see very well, but he can still drive the ball pretty far. I really can’t hit but I can see 75 yards away, so he hits the ball and I tell him where it is.” With his blue, Irish eyes smiling, he finishes, “It works out.”