Robert G. Hartling

Robert Gerard Hartling passed away suddenly from natural causes in York, PA on November 17, 2024 at the age of 73. He was born April 19, 1951, in San Antonio, Texas. His parents were James H. and Mabel T. Hartling.
Bob graduated from Central Catholic High School in San Antonio and received a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of Texas at Austin. He subsequently received four master's degrees in mathematics, operations research, and business from the University of Texas at San Antonio, the University of Southern California, Syracuse University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. At MIT, he was a Sloan Fellow sponsored by the Department of Defense.
Bob was employed for more than 30 years by agencies of the Defense Department. His first significant assignment was at Cape Canaveral in the mid-1970s, where he verified the mathematics of the NASA flights. In the late 1970s, Bob moved to California, where he participated in setting up the global positioning system. One task was to fly to aircraft carriers, accompany sailors in small boats, and direct the placement of transponders in the oceans. In the early 1980s, he returned to San Antonio to work with the Army Medical Corps. There, Bob developed computer models to assess the demand on health care facilities under various warfare scenarios.
After his Sloan Fellow stint, Bob moved to Washington, DC, working chiefly at the Pentagon until his retirement. His work there involved verifying the various computer models prepared by contractors, especially for the Navy. Bob's last assignment was as liaison to Congress for the Chief of Naval Operations. His Pentagon office was destroyed in the 9/11 attack-Bob escaped injury by racing from his office seconds before the crash.
After retiring from the Defense Department, Bob worked for several years at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory reviewing and validating computer modeling done by private contractors for various departments of the federal government.
In private life, Bob had a strong interest in acquiring, renovating, and living in older homes in historic neighborhoods, beginning with a home in the Monte Vista area of San Antonio. He later acquired a home in Washington's Columbia Heights neighborhood. In the early 1990s, he discovered York-first living on West Market Street; then since 2002 in Spring Garden Township. Bob also was an automobile enthusiast, ultimately collecting several older luxury vehicles.
Bob will be remembered for his close ties to family, for his camaraderie with and his support for friends and neighbors, and for his interest in the York arts community. Bob is survived by his brother and sister-in-law James E. and Gretchen Hartling; his niece Gina Hartling and husband Scott Landis; his nephew James J. Hartling; numerous cousins; and the many friends and neighbors he found and cherished in the York area.
Services will be private. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Bob's memory to the York Art Association would be appreciated.