Hartle

Chester O. Hartle, 73, of Fairview passed away at 3:30 a.m. Friday at Good Samaritan Hospice in Cabot following a short illness.

He was born in Sligo on Jan. 9, 1936, and was a son of the late Charles and Emily Ruth Guntrum Hartle.

Mr. Hartle was a 1954 graduate of the Sligo High School, where he played forward on the high school basketball team and that year Sligo High School was the state champion with an 18-5 season.

He served in the U.S. Army Reserves from 1953 to 1961.

Mr. Hartle worked for the Bracken Construction Co. of Sligo, and then retired in 1998 from the Witco Corp. in Petrolia after 38 years.

He was an avid hunter and fisherman, and loved hunting out west and fishing in New York for trout. His other pastimes included bingo, watching Penguin hockey, Steelers football, dirt track racing, NASCAR racing, yard work, lottery tickets and sharing coffee with friends.

He is survived by his wife, Kathryn Ann Hoover, whom he married in Sligo on April 3, 1959; a son, James Michael Hartle of Fairview; a daughter, Amy Sue Manuel and her husband, Michael L., of West Sunbury; two grandchildren, Brooke Arin Manuel and Adam Michael Manuel, both of West Sunbury; a brother, Harold "Hod" Hartle and his wife, Maxine, of Sligo; and a number of nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; three brothers, Wilbur, Clarence and Levi Hartle; and three sisters, Nora Belle McCamat, Helen McCleary and Shirley Stewart.

<B>HARTLE — </B>Friends of Chester O.Hartle, who died Friday, Feb. 20, 2009, will be received from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Monday at the <B>RICHARD D. HILLIS FUNERAL HOME,</B> Petrolia. Burial will be private.Memorial donations may be made to the Petrolia Volunteer Fire Department, Petrolia, PA 16050 or to the American Cancer Society.The obituary may be viewed online at www.hillisfuneralhome.com.