Senior Spotlight Barb Hartwart | The Inn at Belden Village

Ohio Born & Raised

Barb Harwart was born and raised in Canton, Ohio in the community of Middlebranch. Although she was a shy girl growing up, that never hindered her involvement in activities. Barb attended Middlebranch schools and sang in the school’s choir as well as played Clarinet in band. Back then schools didn’t have sports teams like they do today, but she enjoyed bowling as a fun pastime and would often pitch horseshoes at family gatherings.

A Long, Successful Career In Radiology

After graduating high school, Barb was figuring out what she wanted to do as a career. She had always thought about being a nurse as a kid, which led her to take a two year course in radiology followed by an internship. In the beginning Barb knew nothing about the field of radiology, but she was excited to learn. She ended up working in the field for 32 years at local hospitals and retired in 1983.

Barb’s career in radiology made tremendous strides in getting her out of her shell, as she had to interact with patients on a daily basis. When she started out she didn’t even know what X-Ray meant, but she learned something new each day and ended up loving her job, which is why she stuck with the field for so long!

The most enjoyable and rewarding part of the job for Barb was being part of the healing process. She played an integral part in helping people find answers to their medical problems so that they could proceed with treatment and recovery from there. It was especially amazing to Barb just how different each and every human body is. In addition, technology in radiation changed drastically over the course of her career so Barb was often faced with learning new systems. Each day was a new adventure for Barb.

The Gift of a Beautiful Marriage

Although Barb and her husband met later on in life when his children were grown, they had the most amazing life and marriage together anyone could ask for. Barb is a loving step mother to three children, a grandmother to six grandchildren, and a great grandmother to nine. Barb can’t say enough what a wonderful man her husband was. He was an ornery guy who always made her laugh, and fortunately the pair was able to spend 18 years of beautiful retired life together before his passing.

Faith has been and is still an integral part of Barb’s life. She is still involved in the church and relies on her faith to get her through the “bumps in the road” as she calls them. There’s no doubt that her faith is what helped her survive three bouts of cancer. Barb is truly a fighter and we feel blessed to have her with us at The Inn at Belden Village. We even get to hear her beautiful voice when she sings in the choir here at The Inn.