Col. Dean S. Hartley Jr.
Colonel Dean S. Hartley Jr. (USMC retired) passed away Friday, March 19, 2010, at St. Francis Hospital in Monroe, Louisiana. He was born in Redland, Ga., on August 3, 1920 to Bernice Blackman Hartley and Dean Stanley Hartley Sr., and raised in Darlington, S.C.
After graduating from Wofford College in 1941, Col. Hartley entered military active duty. He served heroically as a pilot in the Pacific Theater in World War II, in Korea, and in Vietnam. He earned his MA from Stanford University in 1951. Later in his Marine Corps career, he served as Director of the School of Naval Warfare at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I., and as Director of the Marine Corps Extension School at Quantico.
In 1971, after 30 years active duty service, he was recruited to develop and head the School of Aviation at Northeast Louisiana University, where he taught until his second retirement in 1988. Much to the delight of his children, at that time he shed some of his “Great Santini” persona, grew a white beard, and embraced being mistaken for both Ernest Hemingway and Colonel Sanders. He thoroughly enjoyed his college students at NLU and maintained relationships with many of them throughout later years as his bonus children, a great comfort to him and his late wife, as none of their grown children made the move with them to Louisiana.
A decorated officer, he earned the following: Distinguished Flying Cross with two stars, Air Medal with eight stars, Navy Commendation Medal with Combat “V,” Presidential Unit Citation, 1st Division Guadalcanal, Navy Unit Commendation, American Defense Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal with three stars, Victory Medal WWII, National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Letter of Appreciation (2), and he is credited with 4 1/2 air combat kills at Guadalcanal.
An artist and oriental art collector with many related publications to his credit, Col. Hartley was also Past President of the Japanese Sword Society of the US (JSSUS), Past President of the Southern California Sword Society (Nanka Token Kai), Sensei and Honorary Life Member of the Florida Token Kai, and a member of the Dallas Token Kenkyu Kai. More information is available at his website at http://home.comcast.net/~ColHartley/index.html.
Col. Hartley was predeceased by his wife of 60 years, Ruth Boyd Hartley, and by two of his brothers, Philip and Robert Hartley.
He is survived by his three children, Dean S. Hartley III and his wife Eileen of Oak Ridge, Tenn., Patricia H. Partnow of Anchorage, Alaska, and Barbara M. Hartley and her husband Cloyde W. Wiley III of Urbanna; seven grandchildren, Theresa Hartley and Elise Hartley Henderson, Seth and Alix Partnow, Erica and Matthew Gatti, and Shannon Gatti McCarthy; and three great-grandchildren. He is also survived by two brothers, Carol S. Hartley of Florida, and Michael O. Hartley of North Carolina.
The funeral service was held on March 24 at Grace Episcopal Church, followed by a graveside service with military honors at Mulhearn Memorial Park, both in Monroe, La.
Online condolences may be made to the family at http://www.kilpatrickfuneralhomes.com.
