Mary Jeanne Bartels

Mary Bartels was born in Pine Island, Minnesota on June 28, 1924. She passed away on August 27, 2014, in North Branch, Minnesota, where she had been living for the last year. From 1966 through 2013 she lived and raised her family in Boulder County, Colorado. She was a true family matriarch and was well-loved by her family and her many friends. She will be missed greatly. Private family graveside service will be held on September 6, 2014. Mary was a wonderful mother and homemaker. She loved to design and sew clothes and was an excellent cook. She was very charming and vivacious, and enjoyed entertaining. Her home in SoBo was always a center of social activity, especially during holidays. She loved birthday celebrations for all her children and grandchildren, and always insisted on “birthday cake pictures” to mark each event. She loved to play cards, especially “500,” and always exhibited a unique and creative style of play. She was a big fan of the Colorado Buffaloes, and closely followed her teams through attendance at games and through radio broadcasts -- she didn’t like watching the Buffs on television because she felt that if she did they would certainly lose. Mary was a graduate of the Minnesota School of Business and a long-time employee of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder. She worked there in a number of different capacities over four decades, and for many years was employed in the Advanced Study Program as well as the Scientific Computing Division. She loved driving to NCAR, watching for deer and enjoying the beautiful mountain mornings, although she didn’t like heights and was always relieved when she reached the summit of the mesa. She loved working with all her friends at NCAR over the years and was proud of her professional skills. She was a long-standing member of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, where she sang in the choir and taught Sunday school. More recently, Mary attended church at Mountain View United Methodist Church and the Northbrook Fellowship Church in North Branch. Mary was predeceased by her loving husband of almost 50 years, Dale E. Bartels. She is survived by her four sons and their spouses, Bryan and Marion Bartels of North Branch, Kerry and Peggy Bartels of Temecula, California, Bradley and Jenelle Bartels of Longmont, and Darin and Melba Bartels of Garden City, New York. Grandma Mary, or “Dee Doo,” is also survived by seven wonderful grandchildren as well as eight great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the following: Fairview Lakes Home Caring & Hospice 11725 Stinson Ave. Chisago City, MN 55013 or TRU Community Care Hopsice 2594 Trailridge Drive East Lafayette, CO 80026 “And He walks with me and He talks with me, and He tells me I am his own.”