Msgr. Thomas Hartman, Half Of TV Duo Known As 'God Squad,' Dies At 69

UNIONDALE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A fixture in the Long Island Catholic community has died.

Msgr. Thomas J. Hartman, of the Rockville Centre Diocese, died late Tuesday night at a nursing home in Uniondale from complications of Parkinson's Disease. He was 69.

Father Hartman's soft spoken style resonated with millions of Catholics who heard his words of inspiration the TV network Telecare, that he helped found in Nassau County.

"I heard early this morning that Monsignor Tom Hartman has passed," Monsignor Jim Vlaun said.

Hartman gained national fame as half of the priest-rabbi duo known as "The God Squad." The Catholic priest teamed up with Rabbi Marc Gellman and together they brought their interfaith message to television and radio audiences for a quarter century.

"They were very good friends and partners, and they did a lot of very good things together," longtime friend Bill Ayers told WCBS 880's Sophia Hall.

The God Squad pairing led to many TV appearances on mainstream television, and the popular duo wrote several books together about their shared faith.

"I told him I loved him deeply and I told him it was alright to go," Gellman said.

At one point, the show reached 15 million homes per week nationwide.

"He kept it quiet for years. Finally, he told his family and the staff here at Telecare," Vlaun said.

Vlaun followed in Hartman's footsteps, taking his place as the face of Telecare when Hartman became too ill from the Parkinson's disease that surfaced 16-years ago.

"He was an absolutely wonderful person, he was a great priest," Ayers said. "Tom almost never said no to somebody, he was always available to help people...He would go out at 3 o'clock in the morning to somebody who was dying, or sick, or in trouble."

Ayers said Hartman was at peace with having the disease and with dying.

"He had said when they talked to him about getting the Parkinson's that he was OK with it and he was looking forward to meeting God," Ayers said.

Hartman also raised millions for Parkinson's and AIDS research.

St. Aidan Church in Williston Park was Father Hartman's boyhood church. Parishioners there said his message of faith spanned generations.

"It's kind of cool to be part of that, I guess, I'm a new generation of Catholic attending where he served," Daniel McQuillan said.

Rabbi Gellman said he can barely imagine continuing the God Squad with anyone else.

"I believe an angel has gone to heaven with his passing," Gellman said.

A funeral mass will be held on Saturday at St. Aidan Church.