John William Hartigan passed away peacefully on Jan. 14, 2024, with his loving wife, Karin, by his side. He was 89.
John Hartigan, 89, passed away on Jan. 14. His funeral will take place this Saturday, Jan. 20.
John was born Nov. 28, 1934 in Syracuse, New York to Mary (Perkins) Hartigan and John Joseph Hartigan.
John’s family moved several times while he was growing up, eventually landing in Rutland, Vermont, when he was a sophomore in high school. Typical of John, he quickly made friends with everyone, and ultimately graduated as president of his senior class.
For the rest of his life, he would call himself a Vermonter. It was on the slopes of Pico in Vermont that he became an excellent skier and a member of the ski patrol.
Always a good student, upon high school graduation, John went on to study engineering at MIT. At MIT he was a member of the Chi Phi fraternity and would routinely break into Chi Phi frat songs at family events.
John loved music and was an accomplished clarinetist and saxophonist and played in dance bands to help pay college tuition. While in college, John was in the Army ROTC and reached the rank of captain.
Following graduation from MIT, John worked as an engineer for Pratt & Whitney in Connecticut and then for NBC in Manhattan. John was the ultimate “people person” and quickly realized that he liked people more than engineering. As a result, he pursued an MBA at Columbia.
Upon graduation, he began a successful career on Wall Street which started at Smith Barney in Hartford in institutional sales and office management, which led to investment banking at Bear Stearns in Manhattan and San Francisco, and finished back at Smith Barney in Manhattan, where he brought in several large pension accounts.
John was an excellent sailor, had several boats over his lifetime, and for many years he and his good friends competed in the Block Island Off Soundings race weekends, taking home a couple of trophies along the way. He passed his love of sailing on to his family and spent most summers cruising through New England to islands like Block Island, Cuttyhunk, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.
John and Karin were married for 41 years and primarily resided in Darien. While there, they enjoyed cheering on Matt’s Blue Wave teams, and spending time with their friends at the Tokeneke Club and Wilson Cove.
Later in life, John’s happy place was the lake house he and Karin owned on Lake Champlain in Westport, New York, with views of his beloved Vermont. It was here that family and friends gathered to recreate, celebrate, relax, and have fun in general.
More than anything, John loved getting together with his family and friends. For such occasions, he always had candles lit and a roaring fire, and most importantly, always made sure that everyone’s glass was full!
John is survived by his loving wife, Karin; brother, Richard (Judy) of Southington; children: Jack (Cathie) of Wilton, Anne-Marie of Manchester, and Matthew (Margaret) of Wilton; grandchildren, Jackie (Chris) of Milford and Will of New York City; great grandson, Luca of Milford; and his many nieces and nephews. He was pre-deceased by his brother, William, of Salt Lake City, Utah, and his parents.
His funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m., Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024, at St. John’s Roman Catholic Church, 1986 Post Road in Darien.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Lucky Dog Refuge.
— an obituary from Lawrence Funeral Home, where online condolences may be left