Mie Harada Hartka

Mie Harada Hartka, age 98, of Bel Air, Maryland passed away on November 14, 2021 at Commonwealth Care in Bel Air, Maryland. Born in Japan, she was the wife of the late Frank Stanley Hartka. She worked as a nurse in Japan through World War II before marrying in 1952 and emigrating to the United States. While raising her children, she worked as a seamstress, both performing alterations for Betty Brite Dry Cleaners and doing custom dressmaking.  Mie was a Girl Scout leader at St. Stephens Church in Bradshaw and, later in life, attended St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church. She was an avid and knowledgeable gardener, seemingly able to raise any flower or vegetable successfully, and took classes in basket weaving, lace making and origami. She was a competitive swimmer in her youth and continued swimming into her eighties. She also enjoyed classical music, opera and the films of Hayao Miyazaki.  

Mie is survived by her children, Elizabeth F. Hartka, of Oakland, California; John W. Hartka and his wife, Martha Stephens Hartka, of Chesterfield, Virginia; and Margaret Hartka and her husband, Jeff Ramage, of Parkton, Maryland. She is also survived by grandchildren, Stephen Hartka and his wife Katie Hartka, of Alexandria, Virginia; and Thomas Hartka and his wife Blakeney Hartka, of Rockville, Maryland.