In Memoriam: Jo Ann Hartz

A plant named Lily sits in Dr. Rabikar Chatterjee’s office in Mervis Hall.’ It was once cared… A plant named Lily sits in Dr. Rabikar Chatterjee’s office in Mervis Hall.’ It was once cared for by Jo Ann Hartz. Hartz, Chatterjee’s assistant at the Katz Graduate School of Business, died in late November at the age of 60. She had been on a medical leave since October. She was recovering from knee surgery and planned to return to work this month. ‘She was a real lover of plants,’ said Chatterjee. When Hartz saw the plant in his office, she immediately took responsibility for caring for it. She named it Lily, even though it isn’t a lily, and began to care for it when the professor left his office. Chatterjee said she spoke to the plant as though it were a child. Chatterjee joked, ‘The plant was relieved whenever I left.’ Chatterjee said returning to his office following vacation and seeing Lily brought back a flood of memories about Hartz. Hartz started working for Pitt in 1972 in the School of Library and Information Sciences. She moved to the music department in 1989 and to institutional advancement in 1992. In 1997, she moved to the Katz Graduate School of Business. ‘Her humor, her humanity ‘mdash; she was terrific to have around in every sense,’ said Chatterjee. Chatterjee worked closely with Hartz. Chatterjee said Hartz was often able to find things he needed before he knew he needed them. He described her as ‘an extremely capable assistant.’ Hartz was excellent at her job and could pull off miracles in a pinch, said Chatterjee. He described one event when Hartz ran off several hundred copies of a packet for a professor just a few minutes before the beginning of class. ‘She was an amazing person,’ said Chatterjee. ‘She always thought of others before herself.’ Hartz and secretary Margaret Jonnet, who also passed away recently, ran an informal office coffee shop, which Chatterjee called ‘the best little coffee shop around.’ Chatterjee called the two women’s deaths ‘a huge blow.’ Hartz is survived by siblings Howard A. Hartz and Jean Hartz McElwain; a niece, Marianne Murdy; and nephews Brian McElwain, Christopher Hartz and Robert Hartz. Services for Hartz were held in early December at the Burton L. Hirsch Funeral Home. Contributions in her memory may be made to Animal Friends, 2643 Penn Ave., Pittsburgh, Pa., 15222.