1942-2025
On Monday, June 23rd, 2025, Dr. Thomas H. Hartranft, MD, went home to the Lord. He was born on December 7th, 1942, to Howard and Eva (Buchwalter) Hartranft, in Columbus, Ohio, at Mt Carmel Medical Center.
Tom grew up on The Hilltop, where he played basketball for West High School. He also played trumpet in the band and participated in the All-Ohio Boys Band. After graduation, Tom attended The Ohio State University, earning both his undergraduate and medical school degrees. It was during this time that he met the love of his life and future wife, Janet. During his final year at Ohio State, he enlisted in the Navy as a Lieutenant. After graduation, he completed his first year of residency at the LA County General Hospital and also married Janet. Tom then began his active service with the Navy, earning his wings and becoming a flight surgeon. He was stationed in both Pensacola, Florida (where he worked with the Blue Angels and had the call sign “Tornado Tom”) and Adak, Alaska.
He made many lifelong friends during his time with the Navy, notably John and Judy Duda. After Tom’s time in the Navy came to an end, he completed his residency at Mt Carmel Medical Center. He became a member of the staff and eventually started his own practice with his good friend Dr. Ghaleb Hannun. He specialized in vascular and general surgery.
During his career at Mt Carmel, Tom held a number of positions, including Program Director of the surgical medical education program (1991-2016). Tom was highly invested in teaching young doctors and devoted much of his time to not only teaching every young surgeon under his wing, but also guiding them in their spiritual lives and lifting them up as needed. He had the wonderful ability to calmly watch someone fail, then work them through what went wrong and how it could be done better (or right)! This also applied to his children, who would sometimes fail spectacularly but were given ample opportunities to learn from their mistakes!!
When not at the hospital, Tom enjoyed various activities. He enjoyed spending time at his lake house in northern Michigan, where he would take his two children, Scott and Meghan, fishing, boating, water skiing, and exploring. He also began riding horses and got into the sport of cutting horses. He and Scott eventually built a ranch in Logan County and began hosting their own cutting competitions. Tom and Scott formed a close bond during this partnership, which Scott holds closely to his heart. Seeing that golf cart coming down the drive or across a field now will never be the same. As Tom inched closer to retirement, his time at the ranch increased. He got to watch his granddaughter Talley grow up and learn to “cut.” He also watched his two other grandchildren, Ethan and Emma, several nights a week. He dutifully took them fishing at the pond, up to the chicken house to see the chickens, and would walk them around the barn to see all the different animals. Tom also took up beekeeping and had several hives, and would process and sell honey.
Tom was a lifetime member of The Ohio State University Alumni Club and held season tickets to football games through the 2019 season. He used to go to every home game in his younger years, and started tapering down as he got older. He blessed his daughter Meghan with his tickets when he couldn’t attend the games, and she happily attended every home game she could!
In Tom’s final days, he got to have great visits with his loved ones, including his older sister Kathleen. However, one of the most memorable would be with his grandson Ethan, who was two days away from shipping off to Air Force basic training. Tom was extremely proud of Ethan and told everyone who would listen about him. Tom eventually made his way back to Mt. Carmel Grove City, where his legacy now resides, and passed away with family by his side.
Tom was welcomed into heaven by his wife Janet, his parents Eva and Howard, and a host of other family and friends. He is survived by his sister Kathleen (Jim) McWilliams, son Scott (Annie) Hartranft and granddaughter Talley, daughter Meghan (David) Grayum and grandchildren Ethan and Emma, nephews Chip and Tom, many cousins including Charles Hartranft, his “work wife” Lilly Badurina, brother in Christ Jim Graham, and close friend Jon Angel.
Tom’s celebration of life will be held on Saturday, July 12th at 3 pm at the Rushylvania Church of Christ, 170 East Mill Street, Rushylvania, OH 43347, with family receiving visitors starting at 1 pm. There will be a reception following the service.
