Dr. Carl Crittenden Bartels, 98, of Bedford

Obituary Courtesy of Bedford Funeral Home

BEDFORD, MA - Dr. Carl Crittenden Bartels, 98, died March 5, 2016, at Carleton Willard with family and his wife, Florence (Carm) Carmelita Coleman Bartels, at his side. The couple marked their 72nd wedding anniversary earlier in the week.

After meeting over the bedside of a patient at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Chicago, where he was a resident and she was a nurse, they married March 1, 1944, in a small chapel at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York. On March 10, as a Lt. jg Navy doctor, he shipped off for wartime duty. Three months later he was anchored a quarter mile offshore on Omaha Beach on LST #374 during the invasion of Normandy. He was involved in both medical and surgical management of casualties that were evacuated to the ship. Doctors operated on a table in the officers’ dining room of the LST. He was later sent to Tientsin, (Tianjin) China to help in the evacuation of the Japanese back to Japan.

The practice of medicine, his love for his wife and family and his Catholic faith were the unifying elements of his life.

After his naval service, he followed in the footsteps of his uncle, Dr. Elmer Bartels, to work at the Lahey Clinic, then in Boston. After a trial period, in December 1949, Dr.Frank Lahey offered him a job as the 32nd member of the staff for an annual salary of $4,000. A simple handshake sealed the deal. He was the last living member of the original physicians hired by Lahey. A specialist in hypertension and vascular disease, he spent close to four decades caring for patients at Lahey Clinic first in Boston and then in Burlington. He served as chair of the Department of Vascular Medicine for much of his tenure.

Caring for others was the primary lesson and legacy he gave to his family. He cared for neighbors in a home office and included patients who lacked family in holiday meals at his table. He traveled three times as the doctor accompanying pilgrims on Cardinal Cushing Pilgrimages to Lourdes, France. At Lourdes, he joined other doctors in procession behind the pilgrims in what he said was a humble reminder that medicine could not heal all. His son Philip Bartels recalls being sent by his father as a young teen to pick up a prescription at the Lahey pharmacy for an indigent patient with limited mobility. He was not sure how to pay, when the pharmacist assured him no payment was needed, as this was one of Dr. Bartels special patients and the pharmacist would put it on Dr. Bartels tab.

Dr. Bartels was proud to note that, including in-laws, his family included four generations of doctors at Lahey, where his daughter-in-law, Audrey Hartman is a radiologist and his grandson-in-law, Haddon Pantel is a surgical resident. His family medical legacy also extends to a son, Dr. Stephen Bartels, and his wife Dr. Elizabeth Tomlinson, both faculty at the School of Medicine at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H.

At Lahey, he enjoyed collaborating with colleagues in every department to treat patients’ illnesses, no matter how complex and unusual. He was considered an excellent diagnostician and was often honored to be asked to treat his fellow doctors and their family members.

He was born July 20, 1917, in Hamilton, Ohio, the son of Carl Peter and Ellen Crittenden Bartels. He attended Hamilton schools and graduated from Hamilton High School. At 17 he was honored to drive Amelia Earhart to an airport in Cincinnati following a talk she gave in Hamilton.

He spent summers at Camp Campbell Guard, a YMCA camp in Hamilton, for many years, returning to serve as camp doctor during medical school. He also was a member of the Sea Scouts, and built two boats as a young man.

He graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and Northwestern Medical School in Chicago, IL

He and Carm settled first in Medford, then Saugus, then made their home in Weston where they raised their four children.

During the Cold War in the 1950s he taught classes in community emergency preparedness. He served as a member of the Weston Rombas Association, a cultural exchange association between the US and France, for several years and hosted several French students in his home. He was an active member of St. Julia’s Catholic Church in Weston, and later attended regular Mass at Pope John the 23rd seminary, also in Weston.He enjoyed woodworking and spending time with his family.

In retirement he was house manager at the Golden Ball Tavern in Weston, where he established fire alarm protection for the building. He and his wife owned a home on Lake Sunapee sailing, boating waterskiing and enjoying visiting friends and family.

He and his wife lived in Sarasota, FL, where they attended daily Mass, joined a line dancing team and took classes in clowning. Following clown class completion, they performed in nursing homes and retirement centers. They enjoyed traveling and spending time with their children and grandchildren.

In 2006, they moved to Carleton Willard in Bedford, Mass., in order to be nearer to family in New England.

He is survived by his wife; three sons, Carl Coleman Bartels of West Palm Beach, FL, Stephen James Bartels and his wife Elizabeth Tomlinson of Hanover, N.H., Philip John Bartels and his wife Audrey Hartman of Lexington, MA.; a daughter, Barbara Ellen Bartels and her husband, Gordon Geyerhahn of Palmyra, VA; six grandchildren, John Siegfried and his wife, Maria Geyerhahn; Sarah Elizabeth Bartels Pantel and her husband Haddon Pantel ; Coleman Ellis Bartels; Alan Hartman Bartels, Sophia Bartels and Allyson Hartman Bartels. He was predeceased by a son-in-law, Alfred Fiandaca.

A memorial Mass will be held on Saturday, March 19, at St. Michael’s Church, 90 Concord Rd, Bedford, at 9 a.m.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Lahey Clinic Education Fund, 41 Mall Rd., Burlington, MA 01805 or to St. Michaels Church, 90 Concord Road, Bedford, MA 01730.