Elwin F. Hartwig Port Huron Elwin Frederick Hartwig, 81, of Port Huron, died Thursday, May 26, 2011 after a long illness. He was born July 30, 1929 in Highland Park to the late Judge Elmer E. and Winifred G. (Donaldson) Hartwig. Elwin graduated from Royal Oak High School and then Wayne State University with Bachelor's and Master's degrees in History. He taught briefly at what was Royal Oak Dondero High School, and entered the University of Michigan where he worked on a pre-doctorate program and was a teaching assistant. He married Iretta Ann Schmuhl on March 6, 1953 at the First Methodist Church in Royal Oak. Elwin was offered a teaching position at the Port Huron Junior College, and they moved to Port Huron in 1957. He taught History, Political Science and Introduction to Education for 45 years at what is now St. Clair County Community College. He was founder of Phi Theta Kappa there. In the 1960's, he was elected to the Port Huron Area Board of Education where he served thirteen and one half years. In the 1970's, he was elected to the Port Huron Charter Revision Commission, and helped write the previous charter for the city. In the 1980's, he was honored by Central Michigan University for being an outstanding educator. He was a member of the American Historical Society and the Organization of American Historians for over 50 years, and attended many of their conventions. He was also a member of the Michigan Association of Higher Education (MAHE), the SC4 Retirees' Association and the First United Methodist Church of Port Huron for over 50 years. He was a member of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), which has a seminar every summer at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. His hobbies were playing Duplicate Bridge in Port Huron and Sarnia for over 50 years, and reading and studying about history and politics. He was an amateur baseball historian and an avid collector of Big Band music with an emphasis on British Big Bands. He enjoyed traveling on the QE2, and spent two summers in London doing research and seeing plays. He also took the ship and the Queen Mary 2 to the Caribbean and two trips up to the St. Lawrence Seaway. He loved going to New York City every summer to the theatre. The Hartwigs loved pets and had 14 cats over the years, beginning with two Siamese cats, lots of domestic cats and he leaves two Abyssinian show cats. They had one mixed breed dog for 15 and one half years. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Iretta; two daughters, Kathie (Mark) Johnson of Spring Hill, Tennessee and Ellen (Doug) Anderson of Waterford; four beloved grandsons, Mark Gottschalk USAF, and Raleigh, Garrett and Carter Johnson of Spring Hill, Tennessee; three step-grandchildren, John, Rachel and Samantha Anderson of Waterford; and many former students who thought of him fondly. Visitation will be 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Sunday in Pollock-Randall Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held at 12:00 noon on Tuesday, May 31, 2011 in First United Methodist Church. The Reverend David G. Gladstone will officiate. Burial will be in Lakeside Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to First United Methodist Church, Blue Water Hospice or the Blue Water Area Humane Society. To send condolences, visit pollockrandallfuneralhome.com.

Published in The Times Herald