Elmer Henry Edward Bartels 1918 - 1999

BARTELS, ENGELKE, MCCLEEREY

Posted By: Connie Swearingen-Volunteer (email)
Date: 7/22/2014 at 21:14:36

30 April 1999

UTE, Iowa — Elmer Henry Edward Bartels, 80, of Ute died Wednesday, April 28, 1999, at Burgess Memorial Hospital in Onawa, Iowa. Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Ute, with the Rev. Edgar Bode officiating. Burial will be in St. Clair Cemetery. Visitation will be after 2 p.m. today, with a prayer service at 7 p.m., at Armstrong Funeral Home in Ute.

Mr. Bartels was born July 13, 1918, near Ute, the son of Christian and Alvena (Engelke) Bartels. He was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran faith. He was raised in the Ute area and attended rural school and St. Paul's Lutheran School. He graduated from Ute High School in 1937. He attended Sheldon Junior College for one and a half years and played baseball and basketball.

He married Marie McCleerey on May 18, 1941. He farmed with his parents for two years before moving to a farm west of Ute. In 1946, they moved to a farm north of Ute. They moved into Ute in 1973. He retired from farming in 1976 and worked as a maintenance man in Ute until 1985. He also drove a school bus for five years.

He was a member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church, where he served as usher, trustee, elder and chairman of the congregation. He was also a member of Friendship Club, Lutheran Layman's League and Men's Club.

Survivors include his wife; two sons and their wives, Tom and Marvel of Omaha, Neb., and David and Belinda of Charter Oak, Iowa; a foster son and his wife, Jason and Kim of Maple Grove, Minn.; five grandchildren, Jana Rhoades, Dr. Carey Ehler, Todd, Erin and Neil Bartels; five great-grandchildren; two sisters, Bernice Hatch of Sunnyvale, Calif., and Deb and her husband, Dr. Robert Sharp of North Sioux City; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by a brother, Wilbur; and a daughter, Karen.