Richard “Dick” Leroy Hart
Richard “Dick” Leroy Hart passed away peacefully at the Medilodge of Clare Wednesday, December 16, 2020.
Born and raised in Onaway, he worked a number of jobs in the area. While he was a night watchman on Mackinac Island, he married his wife Joann. They moved out to Wisconsin shortly after where they had their first son, Thomas “Tom..” After a few years, the family moved back to Michigan where two more children were added to the family – Tammie and Tim.
If you knew Richard or Dick as he was more commonly called, you knew him for one of three reasons. One, you knew him because of your morning coffee. Except for weekends, he was always at Woodwinds or Mary’s for his morning coffee. Nine times out of 10, if you sat down with him, Dick was talking about tractors, which brings one to the second reason you might know Dick: the Onaway Antique Tractor Show.
As a founding member he played a big role in creating the club. Every summer he would go, whether by himself or with his wife and granddaughter, to collect sponsorships for that year’s show.
For many years, Dick also built a barrel car to raffle off at the show. He loved all of his tractors, but Dick’s favorites were his Oliver 77 and his Farmall BN. The Oliver was his “parade tractor” as he kept it in such pristine condition. His Farmall was the tractor he used to pull barrel cars full of kids at the show.
Lastly, if you knew Dick, you knew him from his truck driving days. Having driven a truck for 40 years, he was an experienced driver and a great friend to have on the road. Dick always had country gospel music ready to play in his truck. His favorite gospel groups were the Oak Ridge Boys and The Statler Bro
Richard was preceded in death by his parents, Melvin and Dorothy (Laidlaw) Hart of Mackinac Island; brothers, Jerry and Darlene (Morgan) Hart of Onaway and Ron Hart of Dripping Springs, Texas.
Surviving is his wife of 57 years, Joann (Vanzant) Hart of Onaway; sons, Tom and Tim Hart of Onaway; daughter, Tammie (Robert) Henning of Onaway; granddaughter, Grace Henning of Mt. Pleasant; and sister-in-law, Glenda Hart of Dripping Springs.
A graveside service will be held at Waverly Township Cemetery in the spring of 2021. Those planning an expression of sympathy please consider a donation in memory of Dick to the Tip of the Mitt Antique Tractor Association.