Obituaries

Jake Hartz Jr.

Photo of Jake Hartz Jr.
Jake Hartz Jr., born August 2, 1920, in Wheatley, Arkansas to Jacob Hartz and Mary Isabelle Smith Hartz, passed away Tuesday, October 8, 2013, in Stuttgart, Arkansas. He was of the Catholic faith and attended Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Stuttgart. He was predeceased by his parents; his first wife, Wanda Grundman Hartz; brothers, Bernard J., Richard, Marion and Alfred Hartz; and sisters, Annabelle Kleiner and Mary Jane Flannery. He is survived by his son, Jacob C. Hartz and his wife Jane of Little Rock; three grandchildren, Jennifer Hartz, Lauren Clark and Justin Hartz; seven great-grandchildren; his wife, Wanda Hartz and her children, Ben Northcutt, Major Hunter Northcutt, Patricia Heintze and Lisa Roark; one sister, Marjorie McNutt of Little Rock; and many nieces and nephews. His family moved from Wheatley to Stuttgart where they established Hartz Seed Company and brought the first soybeans to the Mid-South. He attended Subiaco Academy and graduated from Stuttgart High School. After serving two years in the U.S. Navy during World War II, he returned to Stuttgart and Hartz Seed Company where he later retired as president. During his years with the company, he was an active director and officer of both the National and State Soybean organizations, service as president of the American Soybean Association. Jake holds an honorary life membership in the American Soybean Association. He was one of the founders of the Arkansas Soybean Association and served as Secretary-Treasurer. He was a member of the Arkansas State Plant Board. He served as president of the Arkansas Seed Dealers' Association where he was a director for several years. As a director and finance chairman of the Soybean Council of America, Jake was highly successful in raising funds to carry on market development work of that organization. In 1973, he was appointed to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Plant Variety Protection Board by Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz. In 1976, he had the foresight to begin a research program to develop higher yielding and disease resistant soybean varieties for the Mid-South. Hartz Seed established the largest soybean research facility in the South. He went to Washington to receive from President Reagan the President's "E" Certificate for Exports for outstanding contribution to the export expansion in Japan, Mexico and Spain. He was well known for philanthropic community endeavors. Jake was very active in the Catholic Church. He was on the Boy Scouts Board of Trustees, Stuttgart Memorial Hospital Board and a member of St. Louis Federal Reserve Board. He worked tirelessly in the establishment of the White River Regional Irrigation Distribution District to provide agriculture water to the Grand Prairie. He also led the efforts in the widening of Park Avenue in Stuttgart. He worked many years with St. Vincent Infirmary. In recent years, he was very supportive in the building of the Grand Prairie Center. Besides being a hard-working businessman and community leader, he especially loved his church. He was an avid golfer, quail hunter, turkey hunter and duck hunter and a major supporter of Ducks Unlimited and the University of Arkansas Razorback Foundation. Visitation will be Thursday, October 10, 4-6 p.m. at Holy Rosary Parish Hall with Rosary following at 6 p.m. at Holy Rosary Catholic Church. Funeral mass will be at 10 a.m. Friday at Holy Rosary Catholic Church with burial following in Holy Rosary Cemetery by Turpin Funeral Home of Stuttgart. The family requests memorials be made to Holy Rosary Catholic Church, 1815 South Prairie, Stuttgart, Ark. 72160, Phillips Community College Foundation of the University of Arkansas at Stuttgart Scholarship Fund, 2807 Hwy. 165 South, Box A, Stuttgart, Ark. 72160, or a charity of the donor's choice. Please go to www.turpinco.com to sign the online guestbook.

Published October 10, 2013

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