John Frank Bartman

John Frank Bartman, 85, of Marengo, Illinois, died Dec. 6, 2023, surrounded by his family. He was born in Evanston, Illinois, Aug. 9, 1938, to Elizabeth (Hovley) and Theodore L. Bartman and was raised on the Bartman Family Farm, which was homesteaded in 1846 in Wheeling, Illinois. In 1958, John was a member of the first-ever graduating class of Notre Dame High School for Boys in Niles, Illinois, developing friendships that lasted his lifetime. He married Rosemary (Hein) in 1965 at St. Mary Church in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, and in 1968 moved to Marengo, continuing his life’s calling – raising a family while grain farming. A dedicated family man and farmer, John followed the path set by his family’s business – “Bartman’s Farm Fresh Produce” in Wheeling – by opening and operating one of the first sweet corn stands in McHenry County, which serves the community to this day. John was blessed to continue farming until just days before his passing.

John Bartman was a living example that “gentleman” is a compound word, for he was, indeed, a gentle man. John’s disdain for getting up before the sun was well-earned, having spent many years rising at 2 a.m. to travel to Chicago’s South Water Street Market to purchase and sell produce. He would later travel to the family farm on Milwaukee Avenue in Wheeling and open the stand by 8 a.m.; then work the fields during the day and finally travel back to Marengo at 9 p.m. only to repeat the process later in the week.

Though not a traveler himself, John was always quick to track and follow the travels of family members and friends via atlases and maps. In his later years, John enjoyed nothing more than riding his John Deere Gator with his grandchildren, watching the irrigation systems, cutting grass and greeting friends and neighbors at the family sweet corn stand each summer. He enjoyed spending time reminiscing and looking at photos.

He was preceded in death by his parents and is survived by his wife Rosemary, children Wendy (Marc) Whitney, Holly, Jody and John Michael, grandchildren Heidi, Amy and Calvin, brother Theodore (Madeline), sister Carole, and many nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be from 3 to 7pm with a rosary at 6pm on Monday, December 18 at Querhammer & Flagg Funeral Home, 500 W. Terra Cotta Ave., Crystal Lake. There will be continued visitation from 8:30 to 9:30am on Tuesday, December 19 at Marengo-Union Funeral Home, 505 E. Grant Hwy, Marengo. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10am at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 323 N Taylor St, Marengo. Interment in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Buffalo Grove will be at 2pm.

Donations are requested to Sacred Heart Religious Education Program (Marengo, Illinois) or Crusader Community Health Diabetes Fund (Rockford, Illinois).