Hermann Hartung passed away peacefully on Monday, September 11, 2023, at the age of 88, in Concord, California, due to complications from Parkinson’s Disease.
Hermann was born on November 12, 1934, in Munich, Germany to the late Heinrich and Frieda Hartung. He was the middle of three children. He enrolled in trade school at a young age to become a toolmaker, working through his apprenticeship, becoming a journeyman and eventually master toolmaker. He emigrated to Canada in 1959 working at the Leitz factory in Midland, Ontario. In 1960, he moved to Queens, NY and in 1963, to Los Angeles, California, where he worked as a machinist.
In 1963, he met his future wife, Jutta Oberst, married in 1964 and in November of that year celebrated the birth of their only son. In 1967, Hermann started his own machine shop, H&B Engineering, for the manufacturing of tooling and precision machined parts. He successfully grew the business over the next 30 years providing services for the defense, aerospace, and computer industries, among others. Some of his proudest accomplishments included machining parts for the Mercury Space Program as well as the reentry hookup housing for the Apollo Space Program. He retired and sold H&B Engineering in 1999.
He spent his retirement years with his wife living in Gardnerville, Nevada, spending as much time as could fishing, skiing, hunting, hiking, golfing, along with socializing with his friends, family, and community. He took the opportunity to travel regularly and take cruises with his wife, family, and friends. He loved his granddaughters and really enjoyed spending time with them, taking them skiing and fishing or going to see them play soccer whenever he could.
He is preceded in death by his parents, his wife, Jutta Hartung, and brother, Heinrich Hartung. He is survived by his son, Robert Hartung; his daughter in law, Tracy Hartung; his sister, Helga (Hartung) Krauss; his granddaughters, Madison and Josephina, and his nieces and nephews.
A Celebration of Life will be held at his son’s home in Walnut Creek, CA on October 1. For more information call 925-906-9849. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Parkinson’s Foundation (https://www.parkinson.org/).