Marengo Union District 165 honors memory of longtime educator

A dedication in memory of longtime Marengo Union Elementary School District 165 educator Karen Hartman was held during the school board meeting Wednesday.

Hartman, who died in November, served as an educator for 34 years, teaching at several local schools, including the now-closed Hawthorn and Washington elementary schools in Marengo and Evergreen Academy in Union, according to her obituary and a news release.

Hartman, 77, was a lifelong Marengo resident and graduated from Marengo Community High School. She started her career in Woodstock before quickly moving to the Marengo-Union school district, according to the obituary.

“The district would like to recognize the late Mrs. Hartman for her many years of service and thank her family for a generous memorial donation,” the district said in a statement.

A plaque in Hartman’s honor can be found at the entrance of the Locust Elementary Innovation Center. A bookshelf has also been dedicated to her memory, which reads: “Mrs. Hartman’s Reading Really Matters Bookshelf.”