Larry Gene Bartee, Sr. passed away on October 15, 2018, at the age of 69. He had emergency surgery for a bowel obstruction on August 30, 2018, and remained in the hospital until he passed. He fought a hard battle to recover from the surgery but in the end he told his wife, Patricia, that he was just tired.
Larry started working at the age of 16 on the waterfront in Houston, Texas. He then went on to work for Brown & Root as a pile driver, rigger, welder, iron worker, and crane operator and also spent many years as a supervisor. When he retired after 35 years at Brown & Root he was a safety supervisor.
Although Larry did not graduate from high school he obtained his GED in his late 30’s. He went on to graduate from San Jacinto College with an Associate Degree and was in the Phi Theta Kappa Society. He furthered his education and graduated from the University of Houston, Clear Lake, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Occupational Health and Safety.
Larry loved to travel and was proud to say that he had been to all but 10 of the states. He was looking forward to a trip to China with his son and daughter-in-law before he had surgery. He owned a motorhome and loved traveling the with his family in it. He loved Mardi Gras in New Orleans and with his family partied at Mardi Gras for at least 15 times.
Larry loved to work with his hands and would tinker with anything that was broken. Larry and Patricia moved to New Braunfels from Houston where they had had a house built. He was happy to show anyone the work that they did themselves on their house. He loved being outside and was often seen working in his yard.
Larry is survived by his loving wife Patricia; his son Larry Bartee, Jr. and daughter-in-law Tonya Bartee of Waxahachie, Texas; his son Brandon Bartee and his partners John Papagiannopoulous and Geno O’Quinn of Houston, Texas; his brother Jimmy Bartee and his wife Joyce Bartee of San Antonio, Texas; and his sister Donna Anderson and her husband Joe Anderson of Blanco, Texas.
Larry is loved by many and will greatly missed.
Pall Bearers will be Larry Bartee, Jr., Brandon Bartee, Jimmy Bartee, Terry Bartee, Don Hill, and Chester Arguello.
Visitation will be at 12:00 pm, Monday October 22, 2018, at Zoeller Funeral Home. Services will follow at Zoeller at 1:00 pm with Graveside services at Hill Country Memorial Gardens at 3:00 pm.
