John Robert Hartz

John Robert "Bob" Hartz, age 96, a lifelong resident of Dover, died Wednesday, Mar. 21, 2012, in Union Hospital.

Born Sept. 1, 1915, in Dover, he was a son of the late John and Edna Ries Hartz. Bob graduated from Dover's St. Joseph High School and attended Kent State University. He married the former Dorothy Bernadine Riggle on Dec. 15, 1938 in St. Joseph Church. The couple shared forty-six years together, rearing three children, before Bernadine's passing on Mar. 1, 1985.

Bob owned and operated Hartz Coal Mines for some twenty-five years, and he developed and operated Echo Lake near Roswell. Bob worked for the State of Ohio Dept. of Transportation in land acquisition, and retired from Fenton Bros. Electric, New Philadelphia. In his retirement, he stayed active delivering Meals on Wheels into his eighties.

He was a member of St. Joseph Church in Dover all of his life, singing in the choir there for eighty years. Bob served as the athletic director of St. Joseph High School, and was the founder of the St. Joseph Athletic Association. He enjoyed all sports, but especially enjoyed golf. Bob also put his vocal talents to use performing with the Canton Civic Opera, participating in performances staged by the Little Theatre of Tuscarawas Co., and serving as choir director for the former St. Elizabeth Church at Roswell. Additionally, he was a member of the Four Gallon Club of the American Red Cross, and had volunteered for twelve years for the Tuscarawas County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Survivors include his son, Ken (wife, Jackie) Hartz of Strongsville; five grandchildren, Philip (wife, Denise) and Michael (wife, Paula) Dunst, Joan (husband, Vince) Papp, Michelle Hartz-Coutts and Melinda Hartz; nine great-grandchildren; several nieces and nephews.

Besides his parents, and his wife, Bernadine, Bob was preceded in death by his son, John Robert Hartz; his daughter, Evelyn Jean Dunst; and by his brother, Charles Vincent Hartz.

Family and friends are invited to call at the Toland-Herzig Funeral Home & Crematory in Dover on Sunday, Mar. 25, 6 8 p.m., with a Christian wake service being held at 7:45 p.m., and on Monday, Mar. 26, 9 10 a.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Monday at 10:30 a.m. in St. Joseph Church, with Fr. Matthew N. Hoover officiating. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery, Dover. Following the committal, there will be a luncheon in the St. Joseph Family Life Center. To sign an online guestbook and share a fond memory of Bob, please visit the Obituaries and Flowers link on the funeral home's website.

The family suggests that contributions in Bob's memory be made to St. Joseph Church, 613 N. Tuscarawas Ave., Dover, OH 44622.