OFF THE WIRE
Maria Zankey
pottsmerc.com/
WEST CHESTER — Mourners remembered Zachary “Zac” Hartwell on Saturday as a good man who cared for his country and enjoyed a good time.
Hartwell, 30, was killed early Monday morning when a speeding automobile driven by his friend, daredevil reality TV star Ryan Dunn, crashed on Route 322 near Pottstown Pike in West Goshen.
The standing-room-only crowd inside DellaVecchia, Reilly, Smith & Boyd Funeral Home on the 400 block of North Church Street listened as some of Hartwell’s close relatives recounted stories about the six-year Navy veteran.
Hartwell had served as a gunner’s mate during Operation Enduring Freedom in Iraq and was deployed only hours after watching the Twin Towers fall in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, his relatives said.
“Like his dad and all four of his brothers and one sister, he was proud to wear a uniform,” said the Rev. Dick Taylor, one of Hartwell’s close friends and childhood neighbors. “I saw Zac grow up to become a man.”
Hartwell was born in Lima and grew up in Coatesville as the fifth of his eight siblings, his brother Benjamin Hartwell said.
Family members described Hartwell as “the life of the party,” “a wise-cracker” and “a genuine, good listener.”
He was also described by some of his siblings as “the crazy, favorite uncle” of his many nieces and nephews.
Hartwell is survived by his wife of eight months, Rachel Peazzoni Hartwell; his parents, George and Erma Hartwell; and seven siblings, Carrie Lewchuck, George Hartwell, Brandon Hartwell, Benjamin Hartwell, Elise Terero, Theodore Hartwell and Rachel Sessions.
Visitors at the service joined in bittersweet laughter as orators told stories of Zac Hartwell’s fun-loving sense of humor and passionate nature.
“He didn’t always show up, but he was able to make you smile every time he did,” Taylor said.
Hartwell’s father, George Hartwell, spoke about the special role Zac Hartwell’s wife, Rachel, had played in his son’s life.
“Rachel … let Zac live life his way. Anybody else would have made Zac’s life miserable because living with Zac is a chore,” George Hartwell said with a laugh. “But Rachel pulled it off remarkably. She made the man she loved feel like the king of the world.”
At the ceremony’s commencement, a Marine Corps League honor guard saluted Zac Hartwell with three rifle volleys and a rendition of taps.
Hartwell was a passenger in a Dunn’s Porsche sports car that police estimated was traveling faster than 130 mph when it careened out of control. Tests show Dunn’s blood-alcohol content at the time was more than twice the legal limit. Both men died of blunt force and thermal trauma in the blazing wreck.
Dunn’s fellow “Jackass” star Brandon “Bam” Margera entered the service through the back door of the funeral home. His parents, April and Phil Margera, also attended the service.
Hartwell’s burial was private.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions to be made to the Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758516, Topeka, KS 66675.
Private services for Dunn were held Wednesday at DellaVecchia, Reilly, Smith & Boyd Funeral Home. A public memorial service is expected later.
Members of Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., who are notorious for picketing high-profile funerals, threatened to show up at any memorial service or funeral held for Dunn but did not show up at Hartwell’s memorial service.
Motorcyclists wearing insignias of the Pagans, a motorcycle club with reputed ties to organized crime, pulled up outside Hartwell’s memorial service but left after learning the Westboro Baptist Church members did not show up to picket the ceremony.
Staff writer Tom Kelly IV contributed to this report.
