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Norman Bartel
1926-2020
Norman Bartel, 93, of Watertown, passed away
on Monday, August 24, 2020 at Fort Health Care.
Funeral Services
will be held on Saturday, August 29, 2020 at 3:00 p.m. at Hafemeister
Funeral Home with Rev. Allen Tetzlaff officiating.
Burial will take place at Lutheran Cemetery in Watertown. Family and friends
may gather at the funeral home from 1:00 p.m. until the time of the service.
Masks will be required. Memorials, if desired, would be appreciated to St.
John’s Lutheran Church in Ixonia, WELS Kingdom
Workers, or the Terri Tinsley Dog Park. Hafemeister
Funeral Home and Cremation Service of Watertown is serving the family. Online
condolences may be made at www.hafemeisterfh.com.
Norman Bartel was born to John and Helen (nee Neuberger) Bartel at St. Mary’s Hospital in Watertown on threshing
day, 25 August, 1926. When his father passed away, circumstances left his mom to run a farm with
hired help and a six-year-old to raise. Those circumstances led to his mother
“farming” Norman out to grandma’s and after a while to an aunt until his mom
put the farm out on shares where she then moved to town and rented a house for
$15/month. He attended St. John’s Lutheran School in Watertown for eight years
and graduated from Watertown Senior High School in 1944. During his formative
years, he had various jobs including cleaning harnesses at Piper’s Harness Shop
and being a paper boy for the Watertown Daily Times, delivering 120 papers for
$1.35/week. Over time at the “Times”, his duties evolved to working in the
press room and being responsible for 30 carriers. Having these jobs gave him
the income needed to help his mother as well as purchase treats at Fairmont Ice
Cream Shop and purchase a cornet on payments of $.50/week, where he later
learned music wasn’t to be part of his future. After
graduating from high school, he tried to learn to farm by working for another
farmer for about two years and in 1946 returned to run the family farm for 21
years. During his years on the farm, he became active with the Dodge County
Chapter of the National Farmers Organization and was Publicity Director until
selling the farm in 1967.
On October 20, 1951,
he and Shirley Ann Pockelwald were united in Holy
Matrimony at Zion Lutheran Church in Ashippun, WI.
After having sold
the farm, he and Shirley purchased a home at 16 William Street in Watertown.
He pursued a career
in the construction trades, working initially for Braun Builders. He joined the
Carpenter’s Union Local #1403 and was elected President for several years until
the merger with Local #693. He moved on to working for Little Suamico Cabinet Shop for the next 14 years, remodeling and
installing interior fixtures at various Shopko stores and was foreman for the
Lincoln, NE, Mason City, IA, and Albert Lea, MN store projects.
His interest in
aviation, along with his attention to fine detail, led him to his hobby of
building airplanes. He built a few from kits, but his finest works were the
result of his ability to build from scratch with only plans, always seeking the
best materials and advice.
Norman also served
as usher and treasurer for St. John’s Lutheran and later as usher at Trinity
Lutheran, both in Watertown. He and Shirley joined St. John’s Lutheran Church
in Ixonia and he served two
terms of three years as Council President. Norman and Shirley had taken up the
ministry of distributing DVDs to the local TV stations for broadcast and doing
mailings to shut-ins and prospective members. A ministry that was started under
the direction of Pastor Stuebs and has continued with
the leadership of Pastor Tetzlaff.
His most recent
employment as greeter at the local Walmart was a great joy to him while
associating with the many people that he came into contact
with.
Norman and Shirley
also found a lot of joy and companionship in their many dogs over the years.
They especially enjoyed the Jefferson County Dog Park and the Terri Tinsley Dog
Exercise Area where they spent many hours in the great outdoors.
Norman greatly
appreciated the good attention, care and excellent
workers at Marquardt’s Park Ridge Assisted Living (formerly Zinzendorf Hall).
He always enjoyed conversation regarding local, state
or national politics. He lived by the habit of consuming one premium quality
beer every day!
Norman is survived
by his wife, Shirley Bartel; sister-in-law, Thelma
Ireland; nieces and nephews, Mike Pockelwald, Chris Pockelwald, Daniel (Ruth) Ireland, Kathy (Tom) Temperly, Kenneth (Judie) Ireland, Mark (Joyce) Ireland,
Patrick (Lynn) Ireland, Mary (Jim) Wendt, Carol (Scott) Quest, Annette (Tom)
Caine, and Jim (Bobbette) Ireland.
He was preceded in
death by his father on 1 January, 1933 at the age of
51, his mother on 7 February, 1977 at the age of 91. Norman always grieved over
losing his father at such a young age.
The family would like to give a sincere thank you to the staff at Marquardt and Park Ridge.
History of Watertown, Wisconsin