James D. Hartman Jr.

Jim Hartman (James D. Hartman Jr.) passed peacefully to the great gridiron in the sky on December 12, 2020. Jim was born on September 20, 1933 in Colorado Springs, Colorado to Jim and Louetta Hartman. Growing up in Colorado Springs would instill upon him a great sense of community, with him living there almost his whole life. One of his great joys was to look at Pikes Peak and remark on its beauty and grandeur. He loved the majestic view and gazed lovingly at it daily.

Jim was a gifted athlete and loved the competition of sports. He attended Colorado Springs High School (now Palmer HS) where he played football, track, ice hockey and legion baseball. He attended Colorado A&M (now Colorado State) on a football scholarship, and he participated in gymnastics and ran track. His first football game of his college career was down the road at Folsom Field where surprisingly, even as a new freshman, played the entire second half of the game. In college, he lettered four years in football and was all-conference in his junior year playing guard. He also was a two-year letterman in gymnastics and a three-year letterman in track. As a pole-vaulter he finished fourth place in the conference championship meet.

While in college he joined ROTC and unwittingly joined the Air Force with the simple answer to the question, “Do you want to walk or fly?” He flew the legendary F86 Sabre Jet the plane which he often said was simple; “Just kick the tires and light the fires”. By all accounts, he was a very good pilot, which afforded him the opportunity for further flight training in Texas. He was ultimately deployed to Korea, mostly after the hostilities of the Korean Conflict had diminished. Jim was an officer (second lieutenant) and had a bright future in the Air Force, however his calling was in education. He notified his parents of his decision to quit the Air Force, by wearing a Kimono as he disembarked the plane, to greet them - always a jokester at heart.

Jim started teaching at Colorado Springs High School and took on the challenge of starting the Boys Gymnastics program. The following year he went to the newly built Wasson High School, and ambitiously became the Junior Varsity football coach, gymnastics coach and wrestling coach.

It was around this time that a young, handsome Jim found himself at the bank, noticing an equally fetching teller, Bert. He asked Bert out and they started dating. They frequented the Acacia Hotel’s bar, as well as other hopping places around town. Jim has always liked pranks, but it was Bert who pranked him by going on a date with another guy, and it was then that he upped his courtship. They were married on July 29, 1961 in Texhoma, Oklahoma. Diane Hartman was born to Bert and Jim in 1963. Jim Hartman III was born two years later in 1965.

In 1965, Jim moved to the newly opened Mitchell High School, as the head football coach and biology teacher. This is where he made his mark. Initially, winning on the football field did not come easily, but when it did it, it was a celebrated success. As the success continued to build, under his leadership, the football team went to the Colorado State Finals in 1973. Ultimately losing a hard-fought final game. Jim said if he ever got back to the state finals he would not lose again, and he never did. The Mitchell HS football team won the state title in 1975, 1977 and 1981 (with the 1981 team even going undefeated.)

Jim pursued his master’s in education, completing his classes one summer at Western State University. Bert, Jim, and the kids lived out of their camper and Jim used a motorcycle to attend classes. He was always clever and innovative; however, it wasn’t unnoticed by the local police that the helmet he wore on the motorcycle was an old football helmet, without the facemask, with a large “W” for Western State on the side. They did fine him, but it was a typical Jim Hartman, funny story.

In 1984 he left Mitchell High School, in an abbreviated retirement. Bert was transitioning from the bank world to becoming a realtor, and they started some real estate investing. Bert bought the properties and Jim managed them. There was no job Jim wouldn’t tackle. He brought Diane and Jim along, much to the teenagers’ angst, to teach them how to dig in, work hard, and complete difficult tasks.

Jim came out of retirement to coach at Widefield High School for six years. He took a previously losing program, to the playoffs and attaining the number one ranking in the state. Jim then switched to Doherty High School, where he enjoyed success and eventually completed his incredible coaching career.

In retirement, traveling, the love of sailing (a bit difficult in Colorado), flying remote airplanes and other hobbies kept Jim busy. Bert and Jim especially enjoyed traveling in their motorhome. They spent a month in Puerto Penasco, Mexico every year. They met new friends from all over North America, and included their old ones on these annual trips.

Jim’s most proud accomplishments are not surprising on the football field but probably not in obvious ways. He coached when social change was occurring in America. He could have followed an earlier coach’s examples and been a no-nonsense coach, who made his point by raising his voice. Instead, he focused on good communication and mutual respect. When the team failed, he took the blame and said he wasn’t doing a good enough job of coaching the players. One of his most proud accomplishments was instilling a platoon coaching system where each athlete played only one position, being either on offense or defense. Most thought he could not be successful with such a plan, but he proved them wrong. He was happy to include more players onto the team, which is, to some small degree, why he has touched so many young people’s lives in such a positive manner.

Jim was always happy to be known around town as “Coach”. After being an educator in town for 35 years and a head football coach for 29 years he seemed to know everyone – or everyone knew him. His loss will be mourned by many in the Colorado Springs community, and his loving family.

Jim is survived by his wife Bert Hartman and his sister Harriet Lemesany of Fort Collins, his daughter Diane Hartman M.D. (wife Tracy Hagelund) of Golden Colorado and Jim Hartman III (wife Terri Oliver) as well as grandchildren Andrew Wise, Caroline (Lina) Wise, and Katie Hartman. Jim is proceeded in death by Jim and Louetta Hartman.