Rome Hartman

Family-Placed Obituary

ROME HARTMAN Original Sports Radio Voice of the Palm Beaches Rome Hartman, the broadcast pioneer who signed WIRK radio on the air as a disc jockey in 1947 and then flourished along with his adopted home of West Palm Beach to become a partner and general manager of the radio giant, passed away peacefully at his home on South Flagler Drive on Wednesday, surrounded by his family. He was 87, and had battled congestive heart failure for the last several years. Mr. Hartman's rich baritone voice and distinctive delivery were honed in the early part of his 35-year career at WIRK, during the late 1940s and 1950s, when he was known as the "Sports Radio Voice of the Palm Beaches". He traveled throughout the state broadcasting a variety of sports events - from the high school football games of then-powers Palm Beach High School and St. Ann's and Lake Worth High, to the baseball games of the West Palm Beach Indians of the Florida International League. Born in Cincinnati, Mr. Hartman began his radio career in 1940 as a teen actor on the popular, nationally-broadcast radio drama "Boys Town", which was produced at WLW in Cincinnati, a hub of early radio dramas and comedies. In 1943, he left his studies at the University of Cincinnati to enlist in the Navy and was trained as a midshipman at Notre Dame University. He was then deployed to the battle group of the USS Wisconsin in the Pacific Theater during World War II, and served as an officer on an LCI in the invasion of Okinawa. From behind the WIRK microphone, Mr. Hartman described the prep football exploits of a Palm Beach High School running back named Buddy Reynolds, who became a star at Florida State University and went on to Hollywood movie fame as the actor, Burt Reynolds. Each Spring until 1958 - when WIRK changed its format to top 40 and became the "Rock of the Palm Beaches" - Mr. Hartman could be found at West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium working Major League Baseball spring training games. He interviewed many baseball Hall of Famers, including Connie Mack, the owner and manager of the Philadelphia Athletics, and legendary Brooklyn Dodgers Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider and Pee Wee Reese. From 1953 through 1956, Mr. Hartman also was a local television pioneer. He augmented his radio broadcasting duties by working both on-and-off-camera for WIRK-TV, the first television station to go on the air in West Palm Beach. On the UHF Channel 21, which had a 2 and a half year run from studios on the 12th floor of the Harvey Building on Datura Street. Mr. Hartman also hosted a general sports show, a fishing show and a live auction show. From the time he arrived in West Palm Beach in 1947, Mr. Hartman also used his voice at his parish churches, serving as lector at Mass nearly every Sunday for 62 years, first at St. Ann's, then St. John Fisher (of which he was a founding member), then St. Juliana's. He was an active member and past Grand Knight of the Knights of Columbus, and president and chairman of Catholic Charities. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Esther Hartman, and by a brother, Jerry Hartman, of Cincinnati, OH. Other survivors include his five children: Kathleen Sabatier and husband, Rick Funkhauser, of Baltimore, MD; Teresa Hartman of Redondo Beach, CA; Christine Dorman and husband, Larry of Palm Beach Gardens; Virginia Hartman and husband, Michael O'Donnell of Rockville, MD; Rome J. Hartman and wife, Amy of Bethesda, MD. Additional survivors include 12 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. A Funeral Mass celebrating Mr. Hartman's life will be held at St. Juliana Catholic Church, at 9:30 AM on Monday, October17. A Rosary and wake will be held on Sunday, October 16, from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM at QUATTLEBAUM FUNERAL HOME, 1210 South Olive Avenue, West Palm Beach, FL. Those who wish may make contributions in his memory to Hospice of Palm Beach County, 5300 East Avenue, West Palm Beach, FL 33407 QUATTLEBAUM FUNERAL HOME Family Owned and Operated (561) 832-5171 To express condolences and/or make donations Visit PalmBeachPost.com/obituaries