Hartwig Moeller, aged 86, passed away on March 7, 2025, surrounded by his wife and family. Hartwig was born in Kellinghusen, Germany on May 2, 1938, to his parents, Karl Heinrich Moeller and Margarethe Steffens Moeller. After his father was lost in WWII, Hartwig and his three siblings were raised by their mother in Kellinghusen. After completing high school at the Kaiser-Karl-Schule in Itzehoe, Germany, in 1966, Hartwig was awarded his master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Kiel. In 1970, he earned his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry at the University of Frankfurt. He completed his post-doctoral research work at the Max-Planck-Institute for Brain Research in Frankfurt. In 1970, Hartwig joined the German pharmaceutical company, Hoechst AG in their Medical Diagnostic and Vaccine division, Behringwerke located in Marburg, Germany. Here, he was responsible for all aspects of the Quality Control and Quality Assurance for over 600 products. This is the same facility where the Pfizer Covid vaccine was recently developed.
On July 3, 1976, Hartwig was transferred to U.S. subsidiary, Behring Diagnostics in Bridgewater, New Jersey, where he directed and supervised the production of all medical diagnostic products manufactured by the company for U.S. distribution. He was especially happy to have arrived in the U.S. on the eve of the Bicentennial celebration and had wonderful memories of the tall ship parade in New York Harbor. It was in New Jersey that he first met his future wife, Janice Briggs. In 1978, the company transferred operations and staff to La Jolla, California with the acquisition of CalBioChem-Behring Diagnostics where Hartwig continued his career. He was also employed by ICL Scientific and International Immunology Corp while living in California.
On September 16, 1984, Hartwig married Janice in a ceremony held at the Café Mozart in San Juan Capistrano, California. The couple lived in San Clemente, California until relocating to Janice’s hometown of Great Falls in 1989.
Hartwig enjoyed retired life in Great Falls and made many wonderful friends here. Although retired, for several years he worked in the soil laboratory at Thomas, Dean and Hoskins Engineering (TD&H) “playing in the dirt” as he laughingly said. He was appointed to the Montana Science and Technology Advisory Council by Montana’s Governor in 1992 and served a two-year term. A Life Member of the Optimist Club of Great Falls, Hartwig actively participated in the Mathlete, Oratorical Contest, Can-Am show, Girls’ Track Meet, and state fair parking for many years. In 1993, Hartwig had the special experience of working as an extra in
the filming of the movie “Holy Matrimony” here in Great Falls. One of Hartwig’s proudest moments was receiving his U.S. Citizenship on September 13, 2018.
Hartwig was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Heidrun Reiher (Rudiger), of Germany.
Hartwig is survived by his wife of 40 years, Janice Moeller-Briggs; his brother, Steffen Moeller (Hannchen); sister, Heike Schloss (Reinhart) of Germany; and brother-in-law, Joe Briggs (Kathy) of Great Falls. Also surviving are nephews and nieces, Jessica Briggs of Great Falls, James Briggs of Conrad, Sabine Moeller (Carsten), Sven Wiese (Cori), and Andrea Wiese (Gitte) of Germany.
A visitation will be held on Thursday, March 20, 2025, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Schnider Funeral Home (1510 13th St. S in Great Falls). A memorial service will be held on Friday, March 21, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. at Hillcrest Lawn Memorial Chapel (1410 13th St. S in Great Falls).
To read the complete obituary and share condolences, click here to visit the Schnider Funeral Home website.
