William (Bill) Lester Bartlett

William (Bill) Lester Bartlett, 100, of Show Low, Arizona passed away on Thursday, April 7, 2016 at Solterra of The White Mountains in Lakeside, Arizona. He was born December 5, 1915 to Lester William and Bess Rogers Bartlett in Pomona, California, raised in Chicago, Illinois and earned a Bachelor’s Degree for the University of Illinois in 1937. He was a member of the Theta Xi Fraternity. He met and married Gertrude Kincaid in June of 1940. He joined the Army Air Corps in 1942 not long after Pearl Harbor. It is supposed that the two events are unrelated. He was preceded in death by Gertrude in April of 2014 almost two years to the day. He is survived by his two sons, Hal and Don; 3 granddaughters, Rebecca, Jennifer and Melanie; great-grandson, Alex and 2 great-granddaughters, Isabelle and Aveline. Bill was an avid simmer and tennis player in his youth and an avid bowler and bridge player in later years. Most of his working life was as a mid-level manager with Goodman’s Electrical Mining Equipment Manufacturing Co. in Chicago. He retired in 1980 and moved to Show Low where he was active in the United Methodist Church and the Show Low Senior Center. He was a Boy Scout in the 20’s and became a Scout Leader in the 50’s in Chicago, continuing through the decades to his retirement and move to Show Low. He was active in Scouting into his 90’s. Cremation will take place at the Owens Livingston Mortuary and a memorial service is scheduled for 3:00 P.M. April 24, 2016 at the United Methodist Church, 261 N. 5th Street, Show Low. It is hoped that another service can be arranged for his friends at Solterra Senior Living who may not be mobile enough to attend at the church. How can a full life of a 100 year old ever be expressed in a single obituary?