Blanche Hartman, former San Francisco Zen Center abbess, dies

To her countless students, Blanche Hartman’s true name was “Spring Full Moon, Inconceivable Joy.”

That was the name she was given — translated from “Shunbo Zenkei” in Japanese — when she was ordained a member of the San Francisco Zen Center clergy in 1977. She went on to become a longtime, inspirational Zen teacher and the first abbess to serve at the center on Page Street.

She was a strong-willed instructor, a good listener and a gracious supporter of new students. She took meals with her students and enjoyed asking them casual questions that could lead to insightful discussions.

“She was, in some ways, very formal and formidable,” said her friend Rita Cummings, vice president of the center. “She was always right there, for everyone. She would challenge things you would say, your thinking, in a very supportive way.”

Ms. Hartman, 90, died May 13 in a San Francisco hospital of complications from an infection.

A practitioner of Zen for nearly half a century, Ms. Hartman was drawn to the faith after a series of protest demonstrations at San Francisco State University in the 1960s. With her husband, Lou, a San Francisco radio host who also became active in the Zen Center, she helped hundreds of students learn the proper way of meditation and introspection. She was also an expert in the sewing of ceremonial Zen robes and neck garments.

In a 1995 interview, she recalled her earliest days as a Zen student.

“When I started (meditating), it was like a drowning person grabbing a life preserver,” she said. “I was (meditating) every morning and afternoon, and my daughters complained that I wasn’t ever home, but I had no choice.”

As abbess at the center, Ms. Hartman oversaw the teaching and living arrangements for scores of students and instructors. Last year, she published a book of her collected talks, called “Seeds for a Boundless Life.”

“She was extremely warm, and she loved everyone,” said Linda Cutts, who succeeded her as abbess. “But she could be very strict when leading a 90-day practice period. Sometimes she would have her students sitting (in meditation) all night. She was no-nonsense about following the forms.”

She is survived by four children, Earl Hartman and Trudy Hartman, both of Palo Alto, Mitzi Levine of Los Angeles and Joe Hartman of Sierra Madre (Los Angeles County). Her husband of 63 years, Lou, died in 2011.

Plans for a memorial service at the San Francisco Zen Center on July 10 are incomplete.