David Lee Hartenstein

1941 - 2025

David Lee Hartenstein

January 25, 1941 - September 30, 2025

Belleville, Illinois - David Hartenstein passed away on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, at Evervella of Swansea, Illinois. He was 84 years old. David was born in the living room of a small farm home in Mountain Grove, Missouri, on January 25, 1941. He was the youngest of five children. David was a faithful Catholic and regularly attended Sunday mass. True to his values and connection to his faith, he made the selfless decision to be an organ donor.

His father, Erwin, walked out on the family when David was very young. Overtime, being the youngest child by almost ten years from the preceding sibling, David had to learn to care for himself at an early stage while his mother went to work. He later earned a high school degree via a general education development test (GED) and went on to work a wide range of blue-collar jobs utilizing his God given skills. All the skills David excelled in were completely self-taught, from mechanics to carpentry to hunting and fishing to helping raise his own four children.

David was an avid cyclist, hunter, fisherman, traveling the country on his motorcycle and watching and basking in the sun. He ran competitively for a few years and regularly finished in the top three of his age group. He had a passion for teaching others the skills to be successful at hunting and fishing and passed on his appreciation of music to his children. A favorite pastime was hiking various trails and enjoying the woods. In his later life, he developed a genuine concern for our country's young people. He was grateful to have been born in 1941 rather than 2021.

He loved and is survived by all four of his children: Kevin Hartenstein of Maysville, Missoouri, Ken (Julie) Hartenstein of Belleville, Illinois, Kristie (Erik) Hess of Scottsdale, Arizona, and Karin Long of Brentwood, Tennessee. He was blessed to have nine grandchildren, all surviving him in death: Morgan (Luke) Anliker, Kyle Hartenstein, Allison Hess, Maddie (Larry) Tew, Andrew Long, Noah Hartenstein, Nick Hess, Adam Long, and Will Long. He had one great-grandchild surviving him in death: Aniela Anliker. Many dear nieces and nephews survive him in death.

A private service will be held at Kurrus Funeral Home in Belleville, Illinois, on October 4, 2025.

If David were still living, he would say…Spread joy, study hard and tell everyone I said hi.

10-4, Good Buddy!

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to St. Henry's Catholic Church – 5315 West Main Street, Belleville, Illinois 62226.