Jack Bartel

Jack Bartel was born on August 23, 1921, the eldest of five boys born to Henry G. and Lorena Fronk Bartel near Elmwood, Oklahoma. Jack, 92, went home to be with Lord after a long struggle with Parkinson’s disease on Sunday, May 25th, 2014, at Heartis Memory Care in Conroe, Texas. After graduating from Bethany High School near Balko, Oklahoma in 1939, Jack worked several farming jobs until enlisting in the Civilian Conservation Corps in Buffalo, Oklahoma during the Great Depression. Just prior to the start of World War II, Jack went to California where he was employed by Douglas Aircraft in Inglewood in the sub-assembly area and later as a pattern maker. It was during this time Jack met Ruth Paulson from South Dakota who was employed in the war effort by North American Aviation. The two met through mutual friends who operated a dinner where they both took their meals. Ruth and Jack were married on September 24, 1942, in Inglewood. During the days of their courtship and early marriage, they enjoyed going to see and dance to all of the big bands of the 1940’s.Jack was drafted into the U.S. Army on November 14, 1944, and served in the 19th Field Artillery Battalion in the European Theatre of Operations during World War II. After the war Jack and Ruth moved to the town of Balko, Oklahoma where Jack purchased a bulk oil and fuel business and established the “Balko Oil Company” to which he added propane distribution and operated for 12 ½ years until Jack began farming full-time. Jack also sold life insurance and investments for Franklin Life Insurance Company, worked as an income tax preparer for McGee Income Tax in Guymon, Oklahoma and traveled selling agricultural seed planting equipment for Acra Plant of Garden City, Kansas. Jack accepted the Lord as his Savior during his time in Balko and became an active member of the Balko Baptist Church coaching boy’s church baseball and singing in a men’s quartet at the church. Both Jack and Ruth participated in mission trips to Mexico.In 1966, Jack purchased a farm/ranch with improvements on a section of land north of Balko where the family lived until Jack and Ruth retired from active farming and moved to Perryton, Texas in 1989. After retiring from farming, Jack and Ruth enjoyed traveling with their life-long friends, Warder and Winifred Hutton of Blackwell, Oklahoma.Jack was an avid rock, stamp and coin collector. He enjoyed exploring for Indian artifacts such as arrowheads and campsites and actually performed a number of excavations as an amateur archeologist. He was extremely interested in the early history of the Oklahoma Panhandle area and on the subject of lost treasure and early explorers in the area. Jack also had an artistic gift for sketching and drawing.He was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Cecil Ray. He is survived by his daughter, Jacque Swanner and her husband Stephen, of rural Balko, Oklahoma; his son, Norn Bartel and his wife Mary, of Conroe, Texas; three brothers, Dean Bartel of Tulsa, Oklahoma; Rex Bartel and his wife Icel of Tulsa Oklahoma; Zane Bartel and his wife Anita of Lufkin, Texas; and one grandson, Stian Bartel of Houston, Texas.Funeral services were held at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, May 31st , at the Balko Baptist Church with Pastor Jason Johnson officiating. Graveside services and internment were at Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Balko. Assisting as pallbearers were Stian Bartel (grandson), Keith Fronk, Joe Grose, Larry Zielke, Ronald Delk and James Law. Visitation time will be held for 1-8pm Friday at Brenneman Funeral Home. Memorials may be made to the Balko Baptist Church in care of Brenneman Funeral Home 1212 W. 2nd Liberal, KS 67901