Barbara "Barb" A. Hartman

Barbara Ann (Heath) Hartman of White Bear Township, formerly of Rush City, passed away unexpectedly at her home Friday, May 9, 2025 at the age of 39.

She was born November 4, 1985 to Mark and JoEllen (Lind) Heath in Cambridge, Minnesota and grew up in Rush City.

Barb attended the Rush City schools graduating in 2004. She was never interested in after school activities, but enjoyed playing her flute in the band.

She had such a love for animals. Some of her pets included rats, guinea pigs and dogs. She used to say she would never eat anything with a head or eyes and she didn't. Meat was off limits to her.

She attended Hamline University and graduated with a Bachelors Degree in English. She was talented in writing and drawing. She worked as an independent free-lance writer for a few years. Barb frequently talked about writing children's books some day.

When her brother Matthew passed, Barb couldn't bring herself to leave the house. It got to the point where she decided she needed to find a purpose in life again. She saw an ad looking for an owl handler at Tamarack Nature Center in White Bear Lake. She applied and has been there ever since. She was very good with the owls. Some even called her an “owl whisperer”. She ran programs for school age kids, took care of the 6' snake, along with many other tasks.

In 2015, she married her college sweetheart Nick Hartman. Her fur baby, Goose, also joined the family. Together they enjoyed a yearly trip to St. John, taking her horse Leo horseback riding, hiking, playing in the yard with Goose, watching the various critters on her trail cam, and other outside activities.

Barb also worked diligently on the annual fund raiser Matt Fest in memory of her brother. She would hide the medallion and write those awesome clues leading the community on a fun, family oriented Medallion hunt. Money was raised for local organizations in his memory.

There are so many adjectives to describe Barb. Creative, talented, smart, spirited, caring, beautiful, amazing, kind, and funny are just a start! The list goes on.

Barb is survived by her husband Nick Hartman; mother JoEllen (Paul) Swenson; grandmother Jan Lind; special friend Davey Ackart; Goose; other friends and relatives.

She is preceded in death by her father Mark Heath; brother Matthew Heath; grandparents Eugene "Pete" Lind and Ruby Davis.

A Celebration of Barb's Life will be held from 4-7 PM on Friday, May 30, 2025 at the Grothe-Jacobson Rush City VFW Post #6692 in Rush City. Bring your memories and stories to share.

In lieu of flowers, please make your donation to:
Tamarack Nature Center in memory of Barb Hartman
5287 Otter Lake Road
White Bear Township, MN 55110

Funeral arrangements are entrusted to the: Funeral and Cremation Service of Rush City, Olson Chapel.

www.FuneralAndCremationService.com