Captain Roger Putnam Hartgen

Captain Roger Putnam Hartgen, USCG (Ret.), of Deerfield, New Hampshire, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, at the Granite VNA Hospice House in Concord, New Hampshire, surrounded by his wife Gloria and his sons. He was 94. He was a sailor, an officer, a Scout, a husband, a father, a grandfather, a forester, and a quiet, faithful steward of the people and the land he loved.

Roger was born on July 11, 1931, in Minnesota. From his earliest years he was drawn to the outdoors and to the water — sailing a catboat on Long Island Sound long before the Coast Guard ever got hold of him. He set his sights on the Coast Guard Academy after discovering the CGC Eagle, America's Tall Ship, and earned his commission with the Class of 1956. His Academy yearbook described him as "an officer who is both a sailor and a gentleman" — a description that proved accurate for the rest of his life.

Roger served twenty-six years on active duty, retiring with the rank of Captain. His career took him from icebreakers in the Arctic to training centers on the West Coast, from instructor duty at the Academy to command at sea — with postings stretching from New England to the Great Lakes to California along the way. He served as Executive Officer of the Icebreaker Edisto and later commanded the USCGC Duane. In the mid-1960s, he and Judy — his wife of fifty years — purchased the home in Deerfield that would one day become the family's anchor, though it wasn't until his retirement in 1982 that they finally settled there for good.

After retiring from the Coast Guard, Roger enrolled at the University of New Hampshire and earned a degree in forestry, graduating third in his class and carrying the school's banner at commencement. He then turned his attention fully to the land in Deerfield, which he and Judy named Rock Maple Farm — a working tree farm with maple syrup, gardens, and trails, all built and tended by his own hand over decades.

In retirement, Roger served the Town of Deerfield as Cemetery Commissioner, and every year on Memorial Day weekend he placed an American flag on every veteran's grave in town — including the small, forgotten cemeteries scattered on private land across the countryside. He did it without ceremony, without recognition, and without fail. It was, in many ways, the truest expression of who he was: a man who quietly did right by the people he served, whether they were still here to thank him or not.

Roger was a Boy Scout his entire life — first as a youth, and then in the way he carried himself every day with those he encountered and most especially with his family. He was soft-spoken, hardworking, deeply faithful, and unfailingly generous with his time, his hands, and his attention. He loved hiking the White Mountains with his sons, kayaking above the Arctic Circle in his eighties, tending the old New England cape that had been in the family for decades, and any excuse to be in his workshop — building furniture or woodturning bowls and plates on his lathe.

He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Judy (Mroczkowski) Hartgen, who passed in January 2010. He is survived by his beloved wife Gloria (Miner) Hartgen, who brought him deep joy in the second half of his life; by his three sons, Paul (Beth), Matthew, and Kenneth (Mia); by his granddaughters Anna Grace and Emma Jacqueline; and by his sisters Kathi and Fran, who knew him longest of all.

Services

Visitation will be held from 10:15 to 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, at St. Joseph Church in Northwood, New Hampshire, followed immediately by a Funeral Mass at 11:00 a.m. Private interment with full military honors will follow the next morning.

In Lieu of Flowers

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial gifts be made in Roger's memory to one of the following:

Scouting America — New Hampshire Memorial / Tribute Fund 571 Holt Avenue Manchester, NH 03109 (603) 625-6431 nhscouting.org/donate/memorials-tributes

Franciscan Missionary Sisters for Africa 38 Wiley Road Belmont, MA 02478