Nina Faye Hartman

Nina Faye Hartman, 87, of Montgomery, Texas, passed away on March 27, 2026. Nina was born on April 5, 1938, in Lometa, Texas, to Martin Van Buren and Faye Ibris Senterfitt McConathy. She was raised in Texas in San Saba County and the city of Houston. She

graduated from Reagan High School in Houston in 1956. She initially attended Baylor University in Waco, Texas before transferring and completing her undergraduate degree at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, in 1963. She later earned her graduate degree from Midwestern University in Wichita Falls, Texas, in the early 1970s.

Nina devoted her life to education as a high school English literature teacher, impacting countless students everywhere she resided and taught. The majority of her career was spent at Magnolia High School in Magnolia, Texas beginning in the early 1980s, where she taught with passion and dedication until her retirement in 2002. Prior to her teaching career, she worked at the Houston Water Department and Hankamer Oil Company in Houston, Texas, saving money so she could attend Baylor University.

She was known for her intelligence, humor, and unwavering kindness. Nina lived by the principles she often shared: “forgive and forget,” “kill them with kindness,” and “people can’t have too many people that love them.” She exemplified unconditional love and believed in prayer as an avenue to realize her goals and aspirations for herself and those around her.

Nina found joy in reading, poetry, opera, theatre, classical music, playing Scrabble and various card games, and travel. Her life journey took her to many places, including San Francisco, California; Tempe, Arizona; Biloxi, Mississippi; Ottawa, Canada; and Belleville, Illinois, as well as international travels to Singapore, China, and Russia. Above all, she deeply loved her family and the friendships that shaped her life.

She considered her greatest accomplishments to be her marriage to the love of her life, Curtis Neal Hartman, the raising of her three children, and the love she shared with her mother, siblings, and in-laws. Her life was a testament to love, devotion, and resilience.

Nina is survived by her children, Michael Dillon Hartman and wife Erin Kathleen of New Braunfels, Texas; Laura Kathleen Hartman of Conroe, Texas; and John Curtis Hartman and wife Julie Ann of Magnolia, Texas; her sister, Wyvonne Womack and husband George of Montgomery, Texas; and her five grandchildren, Hailey Jordan Hartman and Alexandra Reed Hartman of New Braunfels, Texas, and Jonas Taylor Hartman, Porter Thomas Hartman, and

Truitt Curtis Hartman of Magnolia, Texas.

She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Curtis Neal Hartman, and her brothers, Doyle Dean McConathy and O.B. McConathy.

Graveside services will be held on May 1st, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. at Memorial Oaks Cemetery in Houston, Texas, with family in attendance.

With Nina’s passing, she awakens to eternal life and a reunion with those who went before her, including the man she believed she was predestined to spend her life with—her husband, Curtis. In 2015, Nina wrote a memoir for her children and grandchildren titled The 30 Year Courtship, Love Affair & Battleground of Curtis & Nina. Within it, she included a poem that beautifully reflects their enduring love:

To My Dear And Loving Husband

by Anne Bradstreet (1612–1672)

If ever two were one, then surely we.

If ever man were loved by wife, then thee;

If ever wife was happy in a man,

Compare with me ye women if you can.

I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold,

Or all the riches that the East doth hold.

My love is such that rivers cannot quench,

Nor ought but love from thee give recompense.

Thy love is such I can no way repay;

The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.

Then while we live, in love let’s so persever,

That when we live no more we may live ever.