Thomas J. Hartman Of ‘The God Squad’

Msgr. Thomas J. Hartman, a Catholic priest who was deeply devoted to his ministry, which included appearances with Rabbi Marc Gellman as half of “The God Squad” televison program, died on Feb. 16  at the TownHouse Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing in Uniondale from complications related to Parkinson’s disease. He was 69.

He was a member of the family that owns Hartman’s Briney Breezes motel in Montauk. 

While Father Tom, as he was known, was well-known for his TV, radio, and personal appearances, “his personal ministry,” caring for parish members and others across Long Island, was most important to him, said a sister, Joann Peluso of Goshen, N.Y. At his wake, Ms. Peluso said, the family listened for five hours as person after person spoke of how Monsignor Hartman had helped them in some way.  

“He was kind and quiet,” she said. “In his quiet way, he was able to silence a room.” 

In his writings, lectures, and appearances, her brother was “trying to help people to see what we have in common,” and encourage “working together to accentuate the positive,” she said. “He was an amazing listener.” 

Besides Ms. Peluso, he is survived by his mother, Sheila Hartman of Laguna Woods, Calif., a brother, John Hartman of Atlanta, and two other sisters, Sheila Mohrman of East Marion, and Eileen Zraick of Laguna Beach, Calif. 

The eldest of six children, Monsignor Hartman was born on May 22, 1946, in Richmond Hills, Queens, a son of Herman Hartman and the former Sheila Kealy. The family moved to East Williston when he was 9.

He loved baseball, and decided to be either a priest or a professional baseball player when he grew up. He was athletic, Ms. Peluso said — a basketball player in high school, a good golfer, and an extremely good tennis player later on — but did not make his way into professional sports, though he did serve as a chaplain for the New York Jets. He also served as chaplain for the Nassau County Police Department. 

The future priest attended St. Aidan’s parish school in Williston Park, and then St. Pius X preparatory seminary in Uniondale, and earned a master of divinity degree from the Seminary of Our Lady of the Angels in Albany in 1970. He was ordained the next year, and obtained a doctor of ministry degree from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley. 

His first parish was St. James Roman Catholic Church in Seaford; later, he officiated at the St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Elmont. 

While hosting religious radio programs, he was recruited in 1979 to direct Telecare, the TV station of the Rockville Centre Catholic diocese. “The God Squad” show began on Cablevision in 1987 and later moved to Telecare. 

Monsignor Hartman and Rabbi Gellman mixed humorous banter with discussion of issues of religion and faith. When the show was later syndicated, it reached 15 million viewers’ residences nationwide.

The interfaith pair appeared often on ABC TV’s “Good Morning America,” and on radio on the Don Imus show, as well as at events all over the country. The duo wrote several books together, including “Religion for Dummies,” and a children’s book, “How Do You Spell God? Answers to the Big Questions From Around the World.” They appeared as animated figures in an HBO program based on that book, which won a Peabody Award. They also won four Emmy Awards. 

In a cameo role in the 1996 movie, “The Mirror Has Two Faces,” starring Barbra Streisand, Monsignor Harman played a priest performing an interfaith wedding. 

After his brother Gerard Hartman died of AIDS in 1995, Monsigor Hartman raised $6 million for AIDS research and opened an AIDS hospice on church property. He also helped found Island Harvest.

His own deteriorating health led to the last “God Squad” appearance by Father Tom and Rabbi Gellman in 2007. Monsignor Hartman went on to raise $21 million for research into Parkinson’s disease; the Thomas Hartman Center for Parkinson’s Research opened at Stony Brook University in 2013.

Visitation took place on Friday at the Church of St. Aidan in Williston Park, followed by a Mass of Transferral and a funeral Mass the next day. Monsignor Hartman was buried at Holy Rood Cemetery in Westbury.

The family has suggested memorial donations to the Thomas Hartman Center for Parkinson’s Research. Checks made payable to the Stony Brook Foundation may be sent to the center at the Stony Brook University College of Arts and Sciences, E3320 Melville Library, Stony Brook 11794-3391.