Gertrude Ellen Bartlett

Gertrude K. Bartlett, age 95, passed away, Sunday, April 6, 2014 from pneumonia. She was born December 16, 1918. Gertrude is survived by her husband, Bill, to whom she was married for more than 73 years; her sons: Hal and Don; their wives, Mary Jo and Sue; 3 granddaughters: Rebecca, Jennifer, Melanie; 2 great-grandchildren: Alex and Isabelle; brother, Graydon, Jr. and sister, Lida Mae. She was the eldest of five children born to Graydon and Secil Kincaid. Born in a farmhouse in Crawford County, Illinois, she learned to cook on a wood stove. Water was hand-pumped from a shallow well, the toilet was 30 yards out back and there was no electricity. She graduated high school in 1937 on a Friday and took the train to Chicago on Saturday with $10.00 in her pocket. She earned $5.00 a week as a live-in babysitter and later got a job operating a comptometer for $20.00 a week, never having heard of a comptometer! Gertrude met Bill at the Baptist church and they were married June 15, 1940. 2-1/2 years later, she got pregnant and Bill went off to war (no correlation). Their first son was born during WWII and the second son was born 6 years later. For several years, Gert was the Secretary of the Chicago P.T.A. When the nest was empty, she took a job as a teacher's aide in the Chicago School System. When Bill retired, so did she and they moved to Show Low. As a volunteer, she ran the Show Low Meals-On-Wheels and, with Bill, ran the Show Low Senior Center; was active in the Women's Club, the Bridge Club, the White Mountain United Methodist Church and the Navajo & Apache Counties Workforce Partnership, among others. She still has the $10.00. At the end of July 2013, Gertrude suffered a stroke that destroyed her ability to communicate and to reliably swallow. She contracted aspiration pneumonia as a result of the stroke on February 18, 2014 and passed away on April 6, 2014. At her request, she will be cremated. A memorial service will begin 2:00 P.M., Tuesday, April 15, 2014 at the White Mountain United Methodist Church, 261 N. 5th Street in Show Low, Arizona 85901. Their phone number is (928)537-4827. Arrangements are being cared for by Owens Livingston Mortuary - White Mountain Chapel of Show Low.