John G. Hartnett ’64

John died from a sepsis infection on April 18, 2023.

At Andover, John sang, played soccer, and captained the track team. At Princeton, he joined Tiger Inn and earned Highest Honors in Aeronautical Engineering. For fun, he rocked for two years with Ivory Jim’s Band, returning for a 30th Reunion reprise.

Track, however, was his passion, high jumping 6’ 6” freshman year and, while serving as captain, elevating the University record to 6’10” his senior year. John was co-winner of the William R. Bonthron Trophy for Sportsmanship, Play and Influence in Track along with classmate Lew Hitzrot, who had coincidentally been co-captain of rival Exeter’s track team.

After graduation, John hoped to continue jumping, but the Fosbury Flop became a more effective style. He earned an M.S. in engineering at Cal Tech and then J.D. from Harvard Law. During the 1970s he practiced personal injury law in Massachusetts, switching his practice to Ojai, California, in the early 1980s, where he married and had two children with the second of his three wives. Throughout, John kept up his music with local groups, eventually quitting law and becoming a full-time musician. Over his last two decades, playing and writing music were his main sources of joy as he, with his faith, battled schizophrenic tendencies.

John is survived by his two children, Nathaniel and Danielle, and by three siblings, to whom the Class offers its condolences.