Hartly Henning Kruger

Hartly was preceded in death by his first wife, Greta and their two sons, Kai and Don. He is survived by his daughter, Jan Jorg (Nick) and his wife JoAnn. He had great love for his five grandchildren Paul (Kelly), Pam, Katie, Mitch, Ben and two great grandchildren, Melody and Celeste. Hartly graduated from Lewis & Clark High School in 1949, where he was selected to the All State team and led the Tigers to the state championship. He then went on to graduate in 1953 from the University of Idaho as a proud FIJI and a star basketball player. In 1980 he was selected for the Idaho Hall of Fame.

Hartly led a full life. His career started in the U.S. Air Force at Fairchild, where his love for his country took shape. His accomplishments from there include being drafted by the Minneapolis Lakers, managing the Seattle-King County Convention & Visitors Bureau where he was responsible for the campaign that resulted in naming Seattle “The Emerald City.” He helped bring the Pro Bowl to Seattle, as well as the NCAA Final Four. In 1974, he was appointed as the Royal Danish Consult for WA State and was then knighted by Queen Margrethe of Denmark. In 1985, Hartly became President of the Spokane Convention and Visitors Bureau where he created significant growth in Spokane’s tourism business. Hartly was appointed in 1998 to the WA State Horseracing Commission and then served on international boards in the horseracing industry. He retired in 2000 after 40 years in the tourism business and continued to consult with local businesses, including Churchill's Steakhouse.

Hartly was a generous father, loyal friend and proud of his heritage, family and country. He loved chardonnay, golfing, horseracing, flying seaplanes and cruising the world with his wife, JoAnn. Hartly will be greatly missed by his many friends and family.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Darcy’s Restaurant in the Spokane Valley on Monday, April 24th at 2:00pm.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.neptunesociety.com/location/spokane-cremation for the Kruger family.