A funeral Mass was held for Bernard Joseph Hartman on Aug. 25 at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. The Mass was celebrated by Father Martin Gladysz, associate pastor of the cathedral.
Mr. Hartman, 85, who died Aug. 2, was a graduate of Knoxville Catholic High School and the University of Tennessee.
After serving in the U.S. Army and graduating from UT with a marketing degree, Mr. Hartman went to work for his family’s Pepsi Cola bottling business, where he served in several positions before becoming chief executive officer.
The Hartman family founded the Hartman Beverage Co. on Magnolia Avenue in East Knoxville, which was the birthplace of the Mountain Dew beverage. Mr. Hartman’s father, Ally, and his uncle, Barney, invented Mountain Dew in 1940 as a soft drink to use as a mixer for moonshine. Mountain Dew has gone on to become one of the most popular soft drinks in the world.
Mr. Hartman was a longtime pilot who continued to fly aircraft until his 60s, and he was an artist and member of the Tennessee Artists Association.
Among the charitable organizations he supported were Knoxville Area Rescue Mission, Habitat for Humanity, the Wounded Warriors Project, and the Knoxville Opera.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 55 years, Martha Jane Hartman, his brother, Anthony Aloysius Hartman, and his parents, Pauline Scholz Hartman and Aloysius Anthony Hartman.
Following the funeral Mass, Mr. Hartman was interred at Sherwood Cemetery with full military honors conducted by the Volunteer Veterans State Honor Guard.
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Will miss you Uncle Bernard I love you Don Moore jr