Kwi Nio "Djelie" Gouw Hartman passed away peacefully under the care of her loving children on Wednesday, March 22, 2023, at home in Lexington, Massachusetts, at the age of 96.
Kwi was born in Makassar, Indonesia to Tjoci Liang Gouw and Djit Nio Tan Gouw. She grew up in Tomahon, Sulawasi, and then graduated from the Bandung Institute of Technology with a Master's degree in Chemistry. It was there she met her beloved husband, Arie (Aaik) Hartman, a very lucky lab assistant. After three years apart, they reunited in The Hague, the Netherlands where they were married in 1956, and Albert and Alice were born in nearby Delft. Continuing their adventurous continent-hopping, they moved to the United States in 1960, where Audrey was born, and Kwi eventually earned her PhD in Quantum Chemistry from Villanova University.
She worked for New York Life and the National Institute for Standards and Technology, but her real love was teaching. A brilliant thinker and inspiring teacher, Kwi taught chemistry at various colleges, most significantly for 30 years, at Maryland's Montgomery College, until she was almost 80. Her students taking her out to dinner to celebrate another wonderful semester was not an uncommon occurrence. Nor was it rare to find a guest at her and Arie's home, where practically every Indonesian international student in the state spent a night (or a summer) at some point. A lifelong traveler who forgot more languages than the average person will ever learn, Kwi couldn't help but connect with others and make friends in whatever country, city, or cruiseship she passed through. For the many of us struggling to get the most out of every year on this earth, rest assured -- Kwi more than made up the difference.
Her generous spirit lives on in her children, grandchildren and their spouses and partners: Albert Hartman and Grace Pariante, Aja and Alex; Alice and Wim Wiewel, Sam and Brittany, Kelly and Owen, Ellen and David, and Daniel and Karina; and Audrey Hartman and Phil Bartels, Alan and Suzie, and Allyson. Also her nephews and nieces in Indonesia, the Netherlands, and the United States, and countless friends and family from here to Jakarta and back again.
Kwi’s Portland celebration will be held on Mother’s Day, May 14th at 2pm at the Flanagan Chapel, Lewis & Clark College
615 S Palatine Hill Rd, Portland, OR 97219 with reception following in the Gregg Pavilion.
Kwi’s Maryland celebration and interment will be held on July 22 at 2pm at the Goshen Mennonite Church, 8410 Brink Rd
Gaithersburg, MD 20882 with a reception to follow.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Goshen Mennonite Congregation, c/o Deacon Alvin Clemons, Jr., 24660 Halterman Road, Gaithersburg, MD 20882.
Please join us.
With deepest gratitude and affection-
The Hartman Family