Hartwig, Ron

Ron Hartwig December 4, 1943 - August 3, 2010 SALEM - Ron 
Hartwig passed away Tuesday evening August 3rd. He will be 
missed by so many: by his wife, family, former co-workers, 
fantasy football co-horts, fraternity brothers (Delta Psi Delta) 
and all of his local running friends. Ron not only had a great 
group of running friends, he also maintained friendships 
from his long career with the Department of Human Services 
where his last position was as the Budget Manager for the 
Department. Ron was born in Wichita, Kansas on December 4, 
1943 and spent most of his early years in Havre, Montana 
where he took 4th place in the state wrestling tournament, 
was selected to play in the Pacific NW Concert Band and 
served many leadership positions in high school. He then 
traveled west to McMinnville, Oregon to attend Linfield 
College where he met Charlotte and a band of notorious 
fraternity brothers, many of whom joined the Army Reserves 
with him during college. After graduation from Linfield with 
his degree in Liberal Arts, Ron started his employment with 
the State in 1968 where he worked for 33 years and formed 
many life-long friendships. Following his retirement from the 
State in 2001, Ron and Charlotte were able to pursue so 
many things that they loved. Ron continued his friendships 
with many of his former DHS colleagues as they participated 
in a fantasy football league for 30 years. He and Charlotte 
successfully completed running marathons in 50 states and 
were generally known to arrive at each marathon with a 
healthy supply of wine and returned home with local wines 
from the towns they visited. Even with the never ending 
travels throughout the U.S. and Ron and Charlotte's active 
participation in their grandchildren's lives, Ron continued to 
be active in the Salem community by volunteering for the 
Marion Polk Food Share and by donating blood regularly to 
the Red Cross. He was looking forward to giving blood so 
that he could get his pin for donating 15 gallons. Over his 
life Ron enjoyed hunting and fishing, music, playing 
duplicate bridge competitively, coaching and umpiring 
softball, masterfully the fine art of the riding his lawnmower, 
and only recently Zumba dancing - if only by himself. Ron 
touched many people, loved making people laugh, made the 
world's best cinnamon rolls at Christmas time, and will be 
remembered by all. Family was always central to Ron's life. 
He is survived by his wife, Charlotte; son, Paul; daughter, 
Pam; brothers, Paul and Rick; sister, Lonnette; grandchildren, 
Elisha and Marissa; nephews and nieces, Derin, Matthew, Eric, 
Nathan, Jeanette, and Anna Maria. Services for Ron will be at 
2 p.m., Tuesday, August 10, 2010 at the Westminster 
Presbyterian Church. In lieu of flowers, the family has 
suggested contributions to the Marion Polk Food Share or to 
volunteer in your local community.

Published in StatesmanJournal on August 7, 2010