Russell Mack Hartz

He was born in South Bend, Indiana, and moved to Kansas as a baby, where he lived until he was 10 years old. The family moved back to South Bend, where he resided for many years. He later moved to Ohio, where he raised his family. He moved to Connecticut with his wife in 1980, and he remained there. He was self-employed doing what he loved, restoring and refinishing antique furniture. In addition to his passion for restoring antique furniture, he was a history buff and an avid reader. He loved biographies and virtually any history related text he could obtain. He was also a very talented writer, and in fact, had numerous short stories published in the local Monroe paper over the years. Fascinated by human nature, he mostly wrote human interest stories. He had much life experience to draw from as well for his writing, including much travel. Additionally, he developed an interest in archaeology and went to various countries to assist on archaeological digs as a volunteer. He met many people from all over the world, and together they soaked up the flavor of the local culture in each area they visited. He was a man of many talents and more interests than one lifetime could accommodate. He will be greatly missed by a great many.

Russell was a member of Zion Lutheran Church. He will be remembered for his kindness, generosity, laughter, and pure spirit.

He is survived by his wife, Barbara Hartz, his children, Todd Hartz, Tim Hartz, and Elizabeth Hartz, his grandchildren, Virginia Garrison, Theo Rodriguez and Olivia Rodriguez, and his great grandchild, Luciano Sotelo, and his three brothers and two sisters. He was predeceased by his parents, Russell M. Hartz, Sr. and Emily Hartz.

Memorial service to be held Tuesday, April 18, 2023, 11am, at Zion Lutheran Church, 780 Grassy Hill Rd, Orange, CT 06477.