Memorial
Service for Rusty Hartzell and Enquirer Obituary
An email from Michael Connley received April 11, 1999
Dear Friends:
As you may already know, Rusty Hartzell, a dear friend to the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky HIV/AIDS community passed away on Thursday of a sudden illness. His funeral was held Sunday, April 11 in Vivay, Indiana. A memorial service will be held this Tuesday, April 13 at 6:15 PM at Grace Episcopal Church, 5501 Hamilton Avenue, College Hill. (This is approximately 2 miles north of Crazy Ladies and the new Gay/Lesbian Community Center.)
AVOC will be putting the elements of the service together, and the Rev. Bonnie Daniel of New Spirit Metropolitan Community Church will be doing the eulogy for Rusty.
Rusty was very wonderful, warm and inspiring man. I was in a couple of meetings with him on Tuesday and he looked great and was in good spirits. I was truly shocked when I heard of his passing. I am still a little numb. I have thought about him countless times this weekend and it still doesn't seem real.
In addition to Rusty's many activities on behalf of AVOC and the Imperial Queen City Court of the Buckeye Empire, he was an active member of the Ohio AIDS Coalition, Cincinnati affiliate and helped AIDS Volunteers of Northern Kentucky on a number of occasions including facilitating workshops for our Healing Weekend.
The following is the obituary from the 4/11/99 Cincinnati Enquirer:
Russell Hartzell was educator about AIDS
Helped to organize local awareness events
By Lisa Donovan, The Cincinnati Enquirer
AIDS activist Russell John "Rusty" Hartzell II of Covington died Thursday at University Hospital in Cincinnati. He was 34.
Mr. Hartzell, know for his work at AIDS Volunteers of Cincinnati (AVOC), died of a sudden illness. For the last 4 1/2 years Mr. Hartzell was employed as a risk-reduction specialist, senior educator and team leader for AVOC.
He was described by family and fellow AIDS activists as an enthusiastic, instinctive teacher who devoted much of his time to HIV prevention, education and fund raising for related charities.
"He was a wonderful volunteer, he gave 110 percent of himself to everything he did," said Mr. Hartzell's sister, Holly Marcum of Colerain Township. "He loved music, he loved performing, he loved his family. He had friends across the country. Everyone loved Rusty," she said.
Mr. Hartzell helped organize many of the AIDS awareness events in the Tristate, including AIDS Awareness Week and World AIDS Day. He was appointed to the Ohio Department of Health's Community HIV Prevention Planning Committee in 1995 and remained an active member until his death.
"His innovative approach to teaching safer sex and HIV prevention method was a model for many other educators in his field," said Kathryn Thompson, AVOC education coordinator.
A Cincinnati native, Mr. Hartzell was raised in Harrison and graduated from William Henry Harrison High School. He attended the University of Cincinnati and Southern Ohio College, studying management, travel and tourism.
Other survivors include his mother Frances Neubert, and stepfather William Neubert, Vivay, Ind.; and a brother, Jeffrey Hartzell. His father Russell J. Hartzell, preceded him in death.
Visitation will be from 2 - 5 p.m. today (Sunday) at Haskell & Morrison Funeral Home, Vevay, Ind. A funeral service will follow immediately.
AVOC will hold a memorial service at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday at Grace Episcopal Church, 5501 Hamilton Ave., College Hill.
