RICHARD M. BARTLEY
1928-2017
Richard Myers Bartley, 89, passed away October 30, 2017, in Cleburne, Texas, where he recently moved after Hurricane Harvey. A long-time resident of Houston, Dick will be remembered for his keen analytical mind, his love of science, math and contraptions of all kinds, and for his sense of humor and clever pranks, traits he carried with him from boyhood.
Dick was born on Jan. 10, 1928, in Washington, D.C. His early childhood was spent in Evanston, Ill., but by age 10, he and his family moved to Bloomington, Ind., a place near and dear to his heart. He stayed in Bloomington to attend Indiana University, joining Phi Gamma Delta fraternity and receiving a Bachelor’s in Chemistry and a Master’s in Business Administration. He also found the love of his life, Patsy Hamilton; they met on a blind-date at IU and would have celebrated their 67th wedding anniversary on Nov. 24.
Dick and Patsy built a life together that took them from Bloomington to Louisville, Ky.; Denver, Colo.; Holyoke, Mass., Terre Haute, Ind.; Shawnee Mission, Kan.; Bethel Park, Pa.; and, from 1971-2017, to Houston. After serving as a commissioned officer with the U.S. Air Force, Dick spent most of his professional career at Gulf Oil, where he retired as Senior Vice President of Gulf Oil Chemicals. He was a retired member of the American Chemical Society, Petroleum Club of Houston, and Houston and Lakewood Yacht Clubs.
Dick had many interests, and after taking an early retirement, he had time to pursue them. He studied financial planning, continued sailing, and taught weather classes for the Galveston Bay Power Squadron. A skilled woodworker, he liked to putter in his extensive garage workshop and could generally find a way to repair just about anything. He loved boats, British detective novels, jazz and big-band music, and, most importantly, dogs. Dick never met a dog he didn’t like, or one that didn’t like him.
The son of Edward Ross and Anna Pearl Myers Bartley, Dick is survived by his loving wife, Patsy; their three children, Diane Connolly (Patrick) of Nashville, Tenn.; Patricia Dunn-Rankin (Dean) of Irvine, Calif., and Rick Bartley (Rita Papajohn) of Cleburne; and five grandchildren, Eric and Evan Beiter; Paige and Drew Dunn-Rankin, and Ryan Bartley. His older brother, Edward Bartley, and younger sister, Janet Gardner, preceded him in death.
A private gathering to celebrate Dick’s life was held in Cleburne, to be followed by a family memorial service at historic Rose Hill Cemetery in Dick’s beloved hometown of Bloomington, Ind. The family asks that Dick be honored, in lieu of flowers, by a contribution to the Alzheimer’s Association or to your local animal shelter. Rosser Funeral Home in Cleburne is handling arrangements.