Jerry W. Hartin, 79 of Lansing, passed away Thursday, September 28th, 2017 at home in the arms of his family. Jerry was born February 22, 1938 in Des Moines. He was the son of William and Jean Olinger, Hartin. He graduated from Maxwell High School in 1957. He then entered the US Navy where he went to the Great Lakes Naval Station to train as a journalist. He was assigned to work on the SubPac paper in Hawaii, Pearl Harbor and Coronado until his honorable discharge in 1961. Following his discharge, he worked on the news papers in Newton, Fort Dodge, and Davenport. He left journalism to attend Truman State University at Kirksville, Missouri where he received his BA in Secondary English Education and in later years he sought his Masters at the University of Northern Iowa.
On April 22, 1962 he was united in marriage to Rosemary Cory at the Collins Christian Church at Collins, Iowa. Jerry held many jobs, but his passion was teaching and coaching. He taught English and coached at Sibley, Maynard, Waterloo, McGregor and retired from Kee High in Lansing after 15 years of service. He was the head coach when the Kee Hawk football team earned their first win in school history and took the 1986 girls basketball team to the section finals.
He is survived by his wife Rosemary of Lansing; one son, Randy (Angie) Hartin of Eldridge, Iowa; two daughters, Kelly (Brad) Coleman of North Branch, Iowa, Terri (Tony) Meyers of LaCrosse; brother Hugh Hartin of Clinton and a half brother, Bryce Dykstra of Mississippi; and 8 grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents and his step-father, Frank Dykstra.
A Celebration of Life will be held from 1-4 pm on Saturday, October 21, 2017 at Kerndt Brothers Community Center, Lansing, Iowa
Thornburg-Grau Funeral Home and Cremation Service, Lansing, Iowa is helping the family with arrangements.