Darlene Hartman

Darlene Grace Hartman stepped from Northfield, MN to her eternal home on May 12, 2025.

Funeral services will be held at the Boldt Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Faribault, on Friday, May 16, 2025 at 2:30 p.m. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service on Friday.

A private family interment will be on Monday, May 19, 2025 at Highland Cemetery, Ruthven, IA.

Darlene was born on a farm near Ruthven, IA on May 25, 1930 to Olin and Lettie Watt, and soon after moved to Spencer, IA with her family. She attended school in Spencer, graduating from Spencer High School in the class of 1948.

Darlene married Burdette Hartman, and except for the two years they lived in CA while Burdette was in the Marines, they resided in Spencer for the entirety of their marriage of 54 years. Darlene enjoyed being a homemaker, wife and mother. She and Burdette had 5 children: David, Lynnette, Pamela, Bryon and Kathryn, and an ‘adopted’ daughter, Erna de Wet. She was the bookkeeper for their business, Hartman Auto Electric, and in the earlier years of their marriage also worked at The Maid Rite and Farmers Bank. After her children were in school, she enjoyed serving as the secretary for the First Baptist Church, as well as singing in the choir, teaching Sunday School, serving as a deaconess, and a youth worker at different times. Baking for her family and others was a favorite hobby, along with reading and needlepoint. At Christmas she would prepare plates of cookies and candies to deliver to elderly friends and neighbors. She also provided rides to church events and shopping for several elderly women in her church. In later years she was a member of Hope Church in Spencer. She moved to MN in 2014 to be closer to her daughters and grandchildren, and faithfully attended Cannon City Community Church for as long as she was able.

Darlene was an avid fan of the Clay County Fair and attended for 87 years. In younger years she worked in different kiosks at the fair, and after retirement volunteered in information booths and the Y ice cream stands. She was also a member of the Spencer Band Boosters for 24 consecutive years.

Having placed her faith in Jesus Christ as her Savior at an early age, Darlene is now in His presence where she has joined her husband, Burdette: sons David and Bryon: parents: brothers Arthur (Margret) Watt, Kenneth and Dale: sisters Helen (Vernal) Dahleen, Alice (Jim) Daniel and Iona (Stanley) Tolle.

She is survived by her three daughters, Lynnette, Pamela (Gary) Wunderlich of Faribault, MN; Kathryn (Tom) Valine of Forest Lake, MN; and Erna de Wet of South Africa; brother, Harold Watt of Boise, ID; 13 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews and friends.