Thank you Craig for directing me to this website to view photos of your mom and to read your words.  When you don't meet someone until they are well into their years on earth, you forget that they really had a whole lifetime before that point.  Your mom certainly lived her life well and I'm sure that she is missed by all who knew her.

As the days and weeks pass, and as you return to life's routine, may you continue to feel comforted by the love and support of family and friends.

Our thoughts and prayers are with your family at this time.  Craig, your mother was lucky to have you as a son and Mary as a daughter in law. You were both so caring and kind.  I especially remember you bringing her to school events when you could and always mentioning how SHE was doing when I asked you how YOU were doing.

Craig's funeral service comments of 10 Jan 2011:

       Where does one begin when one speaks of Madeline Bartos?  As a daughter who gave a significant part of her future to support her family in time of serious need?  As a loving sister who helped shepherd her siblings in their youth and was wise counsel to them as an adult?  As a devoted wife who saw more in her rambunctious husband-to-be than most of the rest of her family (and most of the rest of his family!)…and proved them wrong, time after time, as she helped form and support a sapling flapping in the breeze, pruning his unhealthy branches, shaping her Johnny into a strong oak to weather many a storm ahead.  “She’s quite a woman, Craigums” he used to say, “quite a woman, and I’m darned lucky to have her.  I don’t know what I would’ve done.”  Madeline even learned to cook like a Slovak, for a Slovak - whatever he grew, hunted, or fished, and she learned how to can it or freeze it all.  She even won over a family of suspicious Slovaks who weren’t quite sure about the little redhead from Peoria and her ability to handle their brother Ace (Johnny).  She was a rock when he, or anyone else, needed one to rest on.  Indeed, if Johnny was the oak, Madeline, his “Red”, was his sunshine.  Oh, she would sometimes rain on his parade alright, but really only when he needed it, because, you see, she knew that it is a right combination of sunshine and rain that is required for an oak to flourish, and grow…and Madeline knew that proper combination for everyone’s life she touched…especially mine.

      Or do you start with Madeline as the loving mother who, along with Johnny, knew that a major key in life is education - and had the vision, discipline, and self-sacrifice to encourage and motivate their son to always strive to do his best, whatever that might be, at whatever he had as his task in front of him?  They knew that achievement is not necessarily what you do but how you do it, that learning is a life-long process, not a convenient set of twelve, or eight, or four years, that the reward of self-respect comes from doing a good job, and that it is ok if that is all the respect you get.  They made a wonderful complimentary couple, Johnny guiding a young son with his math and science; Madeline with English, spelling, reading, and writing.  I did not know it then, but I had it made.
          
      Madeline lived kindness, except to herself.  Always with a feeling of underachievement academically, she overcame in so many ways.  Crossword puzzles, devouring the newspaper, and critical listening were always on her plate.  And after all, it was only Madeline, the mom, who could heal a hurt, who could dress an eight inch cut without stitches, who could take care of a dozen wasp stings at once, who could make the best carrot cake, tapioca pudding, nut and poppy seed bread, fudge, chocolate covered peanut butter balls, and pies with anything Johnny grew, or who could say just the right things at just the right times to her offspring who needed a little push in the right direction, consolation in a time of sorrow, or a little reinforcement of a mission accomplished.  It was Madeline, the mom, who could demonstrate and not just talk about perseverance, determination, and an undying spirit as she overcame tetanus twenty years ago, coming back stronger than ever as she forged ahead to see all three of her beloved grandchildren graduate from a high school she could never attend and go on to college she could only dream about.  She taught me, as an adult, as much as she taught me as a child, and I am the better for all of it.

      It is Madeline, as Grandma, that I think she loved the best.  She delighted in Karen, Laura, and John, at each and every stage in their growth and development, and at each opportunity to engage them.  Initially with peanut butter on a finger for one, they all progressed through infant feeding, tickle-mouse, cookies, milk, bread, fruit, ice cream, dress-ups, a bedtime story, instrument recitals, band concerts and parades, showchoir and choir performances, award ceremonies, and graduations under her watch.  She loved it all.  She loved you three enough to encourage you, provide for you, and even to admonish you, when needed, to do your very best…just as she did her son.  No bigger smile crossed her face than when you gave Grandma a hug.

      As time marched on, Madeline, the mother-in-law, became so very special.  It has been unbelievably gratifying for me to see Madeline and Mary enjoy each other so much, particularly in more recent years.  They have discovered what is so unique, so special, about each other and have drawn close, even in the midst of infirmity.  It is with great respect, admiration, and love that this has happened and I know that it was, in part, out of love for me…but it went well beyond that long, long ago.  And so it is with my great respect, admiration, and love that I thank Mary for the opportunity to observe the love of Christ in action, and for being there for Madeline when I have not been able.  You have given an incredible life lesson for your children, for anyone who knows you and, particularly, for me.
  
      But, “oh, father time”, as she stated not long ago (at the time of her TIA), caught up with her finally, and she knew it.  Only, she had to convince the rest of us, as she forged on with her infirmities, being more realistic than we about where all this was going.  Once after a neurologic event in this last year, I expressed concern that it be medically evaluated at the hospital to determine if there was something needing attention and further treatment.  As difficult as her speech was at that time, she looked me squarely in the eyes and clearly, definitively stated, “I don’t think that is necessary.”  I got the message…that time.  Of course, she was right.
  
      As Madeline stated, she has “lived a good life”.  There really was nowhere else she wanted to go, and she had seen the details of what she really had wanted to see before her macular degeneration set in.  It was Madeline, the practical, who decided to come to Wisconsin to be closer to her family after Johnny died in 2002, and realized that she was healthy enough then to make the move, as challenging as it would be.

      Madeline, the favorite, beloved aunt and friend to all.  It is never good timing to have to say good-bye here on Earth to one we love so dearly.  Never good timing to have to say good-bye to one so irreplaceable here, leaving a void forever.  But, it is our loss and your gain Mom, to now be with your mother and father…to whom you spoke a few nights ago, to be again with Johnny at long last, and to now enjoy the glorious place called Heaven that we can not even comprehend, in the company of our Lord and Savior.  You pave the way for me, once again.  Thank you, Mom.  Put in a good word for me, ok?  You were dignified throughout your life, whatever the circumstance; your suffering is over and, now, you can see clearly…clearly once again.  And so we give thanks for you in our lives, thanks to God for giving you to us for 94 years; we thank God for what He has given us, thanks for what He has taken away, and thanks for what we have left.  As Johnny said so often, “so long…so long”…for now…with love.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you all as we take time to remember and celebrate the life of Madeline.

Blessings to the whole Bartos family

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Bartos family.
Tom and Dena Trannel

Madeline was a joy to care for over her years at Sterling House.  We miss her dearly.  Stephanie

My grandmother, Emma Johnson, greatly enjoyed the company of Mrs. Bartos at Sterling House.  My sympathy to your family, Susan Johnson Leifer

You-hoo, my Miss Madeline,
Thank you for sharing your story, your family, and your time with me at Sterling House.  I will remember many, many of our moments of laughter and tears.  Most of all, I will carry on the art of story telling, helping others by listening, and always to stop and enjoy a cookie.  
Cindy Hanson

OBITUARY

Madeline Mae Bartos

December 22, 1916 – January 4, 2011

Remmert Funeral Home

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