Max Braden Hartman

On the first Saturday of the month, February 6, 2021, Max Braden Hartman, loving husband and father of seven children, entered into eternity, passing away at home at the age of 63, after battling several severe illnesses.

Max was born on October 19, 1957, in Crawford Nebraska, to Jack and Mary (Peck) Hartman. He was the firstborn of his parents and grew up a country boy, ranching and wheat farming with his parents and two sisters. He attended elementary school in Whitney, Nebraska and High School in Idaho Springs, Colorado. His Dad moved the family to Colorado during the winter in order to work at a local ski resort and returned to Nebraska to operate the family farm during the spring and summer.

On December 10, 1983 Max married Karen Lukkes. They began raising their family while working on the family farm until 1994, then after briefly living in South Dakota, they moved to rural Arizona. Max worked at Bashas Grocery as a meat cutter for 15 years, and Walmart for 4 years. Max and Karen raised three sons, Philip, Jordan and Brendan, and four daughters, Holly, Nicole, Theresa and Elisha.

Max was an avid outdoorsman and loved camping, fishing, hiking, archery, hunting, boating and skeet shooting. He was a creative woodworker, a good carpenter and a very skilled meat cutter. Being a hard worker, he enjoyed an occasional vacation, especially during the golden fall of the year. One of his favorite breaks was to escape to the White Mountains of Arizona, sitting around a campfire with his family, grilling steaks, chatting, praying, stargazing, and enjoying the fresh air and quiet of the great outdoors. He had a quick wit, tempering his orneriness with a good joke.

Max was preceded in death by his father, Jack and his mother, Mary. He is survived by his wife Karen, his seven children, eight (soon to be 10) grandchildren; his sisters, Denise and Launa; and several cousins, nieces and nephews.

A Funeral Mass will be held on February 13, 2021 at Our Lady of the Sun Catholic Church, 12546 W. Peoria Ave, El Mirage Arizona. He will be interred at Sunland Memorial Park Cemetery, 15826 N. Del Webb Blvd,  Sun City, Arizona 85351.

Donations for funeral expenses may be sent to Owens Livingston Mortuary, 84 East 19 South, Snowflake, AZ 85937.