Paul LuVerne Bartlett

Paul LuVerne Bartlett passed away with family by his side on July 18th, 2018 at the age of 91. He is survived by his loving wife of 66 years, Berva, his two children, Lynn (Bob Peterson) and Jeff (Debbie), grandchildren Ben and Rachel Johnson, Lauren and Matt Bartlett.

Paul was born April 10th, 1927, in Walhalla, North Dakota. He had 5 siblings and soon after he was born, the family experienced hard times. Paul spent some of his early childhood in an Orphanage, then rejoined his family sometime before starting 3rd grade. A few years after Pearl Harbor day, Paul enlisted in the Marines on April 21st 1944 at age 17. During the war, he was sent to Iwo Jima and was one of three uninjured survivors in his division to return home. After the war, he used the GI Bill to attend Mayville State Teacher’s college in North Dakota. At the North Dakota intercollegiate state track meet in 1948, Paul was the state champion in the half mile race. Along with being a track star, he loved to sing and it was in choir that he met the love of his life, Berva. They were married in Washington D.C. in 1951. During their early years of teaching in Minnesota, they had two children. In 1960, the family moved to Everett Washington. Paul then taught 5th grade at Hillcrest and Pilchuck Elementary schools in the Lake Stevens school district for 26 years. He loved teaching and loved his students.

Upon retiring, Paul spent a lot of time fishing, including fishing trips with son Jeff and his buddies. He was an amazing trout, perch and steel-header, a swap meet lover, a collector of coins, a song writer, a published poet, a crossword puzzle expert, an avid story teller, a generous gift giver, and a lover of Thanksgiving and Christmas. He also loved American history and the American Indian, being himself a member of the Chippewa tribe in North Dakota. His favorite occasions were holidays and dinners out, when he could be with his entire family. In later years, he would spend hours on the phone to his sister Doreen Dietrich’s sons, especially Tim, Bill and Ken.

Being a Marine Veteran and survivor of World War II gave Paul a great source of pride. On Veteran’s day in 2017, he was interviewed by Julie Muhlstein of the Everett Herald. She wrote a touching article about Paul where she shared his poem about Iwo Jima. The following is a link to that article https://www.heraldnet.com/news/vet-paul-bartlett-carries-but-doesnt-dwell-on-his-war-experiences/.

A celebration of life will be held at Evergreen Funeral Home in Everett, WA at 2 PM on Saturday, August 25, 2018. All who knew or were touched by Paul’s life are invited to come share a light meal along with laughter, tears, and some fishing/teaching stories about our unique dad, grandfather, uncle, father-in law, and friend.

We believe Paul would want memorial donations to go to the Alzheimer's Association. https://alz.org/