Joseph N. Bartlett Jr., 83, chemist, teacher, Upper Merion Township supervisor
"He loved being a supervisor. He put his heart and soul into that job," said his daughter, Patricia Erickson.
Joseph N. Bartlett Jr., 83, of King of Prussia, a chemist, high school teacher, and former chairman of the Upper Merion Township Board of Supervisors, died Tuesday, Feb. 20, of dementia at Arden Courts of King of Prussia.
Mr. Bartlett trained as a chemist, earning a bachelor of science degree from St. Joseph's University and a master of science degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
In the late 1950s, he was employed for five years as a research and technical service chemist at Gulf Oil Corp. in South Philadelphia.
But he soon found himself drawn to the classroom, as his professor-father, Dr. Joseph N. Bartlett Sr., had been before him. Both father and son taught chemistry at St. Joseph's University, although Mr. Bartlett taught night school as an adjunct from 1965 until 2010.
"His father was a chemistry professor emeritus at St. Joseph's," said his daughter Patricia Erickson. "He grew up in a learning environment and he wanted to follow his father's example."
From 1960 until the mid-1980s, Mr. Bartlett was an instructor of chemical and environmental technology at Bucks County Technical High School in Fairless Hills. He then became lead instructor of environmental technology at Lincoln High School in Philadelphia for 16 years ending in 2000.
The double classroom duty kept him busy. "He would get up in the morning, and get his work done," then head to high school, Erickson said. "Home at 4, he would play with the kids until it was time to head out for night school."
While a high school teacher, he agreed to adapt his lessons so that they could be conveyed to hearing-impaired students through sign language. Although that required him to work closely on terminology with an interpreter, he welcomed the challenge.
"He was always learning something new," his daughter said. "He wanted people to learn. I learned how to listen from my dad at the dinner table, always teaching."
Mr. Bartlett also worked as an environmental chemist in a Terra Vac Inc. field laboratory that had been hired by the EPA to mediate a Superfund site.
"That is why he became involved in environmental issues," said his daughter. "He saw how bad it was and how much it needed to be cleaned up."
Born in Darby, Delaware County, to Marguerite Callahan and Dr. Bartlett Sr., he grew up in Narberth, Montgomery County. He attended St. Margaret Elementary School in Narberth and St. Joseph's Preparatory School in Philadelphia.
As an adult, he lived in Upper Merion Township, where he served on the township's Environmental Advisory Council from 1996 through 2005 and on the township's Board of Supervisors for six years starting in 2004. He was vice chairman of the governing panel from 2006 to 2009 and its chairman in 2010.
"He loved being a supervisor. He put his heart and soul into that job," said Erickson.
For more than 50 years ending with his death, Mr. Bartlett was an active member of Mother of Divine Providence Parish in King of Prussia. He served on the parish's Home and School Association.
He was a Boy Scout as a youngster, and then a Boy Scout master in the 1950s and early 1960s.
When it came to his own children, he showed flexibility. "He was wonderful as a dad because he said, 'I don't care what grades you get, as long as you want to learn,' " his daughter said
He enjoyed fishing, gardening, and visiting the Jersey Shore and Vermont, home of his parents. He was a bird watcher, taking fall trips to Hawk Mountain. Pa., for the raptor migration.
Mr. Bartlett was married for 45 years to Sheila Ann Matthews Bartlett. The couple had six children. She died in 2008.
In addition to his daughter, Mr. Bartlett is survived by sons Joseph M. Bartlett and Michael Bartlett; daughters Linda Ryan, Sheila Burns, and Kathleen Deckman; six grandchildren; two sisters; a brother; and a large extended family.
A viewing will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 22, at the Bacchi Funeral Home & Crematory, Ltd., 805 DeKalb St., Bridgeport, and again from 9:30 to 10:20 a.m. Friday, Feb. 23, at Mother of Divine Providence Church, 333 Allendale Rd., King of Prussia. A funeral Mass will follow at 10:30 Friday at the church. Interment will be in Calvary Cemetery, West Conshohocken.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Greater Philadelphia Autism Society, P.O. Box 60159, King of Prussia, Pa. 19406 www.asaphilly.org, or the Upper Merion Township Community Garden, 175 W. Valley Forge Rd., King of Prussia, Pa. 19406.