Sunday Obituary: Ralph Bartram

I love it when I find an obituary that has a photo of one of my family members. This one was particularly exciting for me because it contains a photo of my Great Uncle Ralph Bartram, who was one of my Grandpa John's older brothers. I never got to meet Uncle Ralph, so I was tickled to see in the photo that he looked almost exactly like Grandpa John!

This obituary and photo, along with several other family member obituaries, were sent to me by Emma at the Emporia Library in Emporia, Kansas. She was so helpful, as are many of the employees and volunteers I contact at the various libraries, clerks offices and historical societies around the US.

Ralph Bartram 1899-1998

Emporia Gazette, March 30, 1998

Ralph Bartram

The memorial service for Ralph Bartram, 99, a resident of the Holiday Care Resort Center, will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday in the Patio Garden of Memorial Lawn Cemetery.  The Rev. Dale Pracht, chaplain at Newman Hospital, will conduct the service.

Memorial Contributions to the Young Eagles Program at the Emporia Municipal Airport or Hand in Hand Hospice may be sent to the Roberts-Blue-Barnett Funeral Home.

Mr. Bartram died March 20, 1998, at the care center.

He farmed near Allen for many years until he retired in 1979. Earlier he was employed at the Putman Ranch near Admire, the Wiser (now Coffman) Ranch near Allen and the Nelson farm, which he bought. He was named the Soil Conservation “Farmer of the Year” in 1967. After retirement, he and his wife lived at 1345 Prairie Park Lane and later, he lived at Stanton Heights. He was also a pilot.

Ralph Bartram, the son of Joseph and Alice Veal Bartram, was born Jan. 26, 1899, at Crestone, Colo. He attended school at Harveyville.

He married N. Mae Dick on Aug. 14, 1919, at her parents’ home in Burlingame. She died April 27, 1982.

Mr. Bartram was a former member of the Farm Bureau.

He is survived by a son, Dean Bartram, 1927 W. 24^th Ave.; a daughter, Avanell Wagaman, 2640 West Ridge Drive; a brother, Joseph Bartram of Walnut Creek, Colo.;  three sisters, Florence Dick of Osage City, Eunice Gower of Bend, Ore., and Lorna West of Fort Collins, Colo.; three grandchildren; two stepgrandchildren; six great-grandchildren; three stepgreat-grandchildren; two great-great-grandchildren; and one stepgreat-great-grandchildren. An infant son and another son, George Bartram, died earlier. Five brothers and five sisters also died earlier.

Note: Ralph's brother, Joseph, was from Walnut Creek, California (not Colorado, as is noted in the obituary). This is a reminder to us family historians that not all historical records are always accurate, and that we should always try to cite dates, places and other data with multiple sources!

Below are the actual scans of the obituary as it appeared in the newspaper: