John G. Hartnett ’64

 John died April 18, 2023, of a sepsis infection.   

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, jumping 6 feet, 6 inches freshman year and, while serving as captain, lifting the University record to 6 feet, 10 inches 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 had hoped to continue jumping, but the Fosbury Flop became a more effective style. He earned a master’s degree in engineering at Caltech and then a law degree from Harvard. During the 1970s, he practiced personal injury law in Massachusetts, switching his practice to Ojai, Calif., in the early 1980s, married, and had two children with the second of his three wives. In his spare time, John kept up his music with local groups, eventually quitting law and becoming a full-time musician. During his last two decades, playing and writing music were his main sources of joy as he battled schizophrenic tendencies.

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