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Foster Bertram Hartman

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Foster Bertram Hartman, 97, of Mount Lebanon and Bethel Park, originally of Brentwood, died peacefully at home, Wednesday, January 6, 2021, to begin his eternal life with his Lord.

He was a well-rounded athlete in many sports including an outstanding football kicker.

He was a son of the late Foster (Jane) and Sarah Richardson Hartman; beloved husband of 71 years to the late Ada Deborah Hartman; father of Deborah Lee Fleischauer Hartman, Jennifer Ruth Pollock, Foster J. Hartman; son-in-law, David Pollock; special dad to his granddaughter, Abigail Fleischauer; also loving grandpa of Dr. Lauren Hartman and Anna Hartman; survived by sisters-in-law, Ruth Dewalt and Julie Murray; many nieces, nephews and cousins.

Foster attended Greenbrier Military School and graduated from Brentwood High School. He served as Sergeant with the Army Air Corps providing care and compassion to injured soldiers during World War II in the African and Middle Eastern Campaigns. He was a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh.

Foster worked as a sales manager with the Stauffer Home Reducing Plan and he was one of the top sales representatives for STP Oil Company and was self-employed as an aerial photographer. He served as Chapter President with the Experimental Aircraft Association and had a passion for aviation as a private pilot and owner of a 1946 Aeronca Champ.

His lifelong memberships include the American Legion, making Master Mason in 1946 of the Pleasant Hills-Guthrie Lodge No. 509 Free & Accepted Masons, Valley of Pittsburgh Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite since 1947, Syria Shriner and the Masonic Veterans of Western Pa. He was a favored Sunday school teacher at Bethel Presbyterian Church; deacon and elder at the Wallace (Unity) Presbyterian Church. He played for a few local dart leagues and even held a record for consecutive bullseyes! He created and worked the Scottish Pub Darts exhibit at the Ligonier Highland Games.

Foster was well-known to his family and friends as a kind, grateful and thankful man. He had many interests and hobbies including collecting arrowheads, reading books with a keen interest in the Harvard Classics, studying military history, memorizing and reciting poetry, building model airplanes and spending the summers of his youth at the family cottage at his beloved Conneaut Lake. He loved all animals, especially his dogs Major, MacGregor and Fraulein. Foster embodied the virtues and character of the heroic and the greatest generation. “When I pass on, if there is a small airport in Heaven, that’s where you’ll find me.”

Family and friends will be received in Laughlin Cremation & Funeral Tributes, 222 Washington Road, Mt. Lebanon, from 4 to 7 p.m. Monday, January 18. Services in the funeral home chapel will be at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, January 19. Interment will follow in the National Cemetery of The Alleghenies, 1158 Morgan Road, Bridgeville, PA 15017, at 11 a.m. followed by a private luncheon. Contact the family regarding the Celebration of Life being planned in February.

Memorial contributions may be made to Unity Presbyterian Church, 1146 Greentree Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15220 or the Shriners Hospital for Children, Development and Donor Relations Dept., 1645 8th Street, Erie, PA 16505. Gratitude to the Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System.

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