Bartlett G. House

Bartlett Games House passed away peacefully on February 9, 2025 after an extended illness.  Know by all simply as “Bart” (and a few as “Bartie”), he was born on February 3, 1944 in Decatur, Illinois to the late Seymour Bartlett House and Elizabeth Ellen Games House.  Bart grew up in Newman, Illinois, where his father and Uncle Paul owned the local lumber yard. He graduated from Newman High School in 1962.  He was lifelong storyteller and, as he told it, he excelled at just about everything, most notably playing on the basketball team at Newman High.

Bart attended the University of Southern Illinois in Carbondale, graduating in 1966 with a B.S. degree—the perfect degree for a great storyteller.  The consummate salesman, Bart loved interacting with customers of all kinds and enjoyed convincing them that he had just want they needed.  He worked in sales and the restaurant business before returning to sales.  To say he had a wide variety of sales jobs would be an understatement.  Over his career, he sold just about everything—automobiles, medical supplies, leather goods, ambulances, and even hearses.  If someone made it, he could sell it.  He worked for companies large (Ford Motor Company and Johnson & Johnson) and small (Burgess Ambulance in Ohio) but found his groove selling cars at Honda and Saturn dealerships before retiring.  In addition, he enjoyed a regular side hustle of buying and selling things—cars, boats, lawnmowers, coins, anything really—not only to make a few extra bucks but also because he loved the banter with the prospective counterparty.

His jobs took him to multiple metropolitan areas, from St. Louis to Detroit and then to Columbus, Ohio.  Over the decades, however, he favored his hometown of Newman, and he returned there to live out the last 25 years of his life.  He loved the pace of the small town, which allowed him to do what he did best—interact with people face to face and make new friends.  Bart was not a fan of technology; he did nothing online.  He was “old school” to his core.  He enjoyed going to the post office, the bank, and everywhere else in person and telling stories to everyone he encountered along the way.

Bart’s interests were eclectic.  He loved fishing and hunting, and some of his best memories (and stories) were of fishing in Canada as a boy with his father, a tradition he later shared with his sons.  He enjoyed old cars, particularly British sports cars.  Bart loved music.  While he had a soft spot for the 1950s music of his youth, he grew to appreciate many genres.  He often boasted that he had been to 60 concerts, with artists ranging from Elvis to Cher to Michael Bolton.  He was also interested in politics and history, particularly World War II and the Kennedy assassination.  He loved to laugh and had a great sense of humor.  He had prepared material to amuse family and friends, and he even took the stage at amateur night a time or two at a comedy club.  Finally, from his youth, he was fascinated by the Old West, and he collected artwork depicting scenes of cowboy life (though no one can remember him ever being on a horse – perhaps it was a curiosity about a simpler time). 

Bart was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Justin.  He is survived by, and will be missed by, his sons Bryan (Becky) and Brent (Amy), and six grandchildren—Lindsey, Lucas, Logan, Carter, Mason, and Colin.  He is also survived by his beloved sister Harriet Elizabeth (John) Reutter and the nieces and nephews who lovingly referred to him at “Bartie.”   

Family will be gathering at the Joines Funeral Home in Newman on Saturday, March 1, 2025 from 1 - 3 p.m. and friends are welcome to stop by to pay respects during that time.  A private burial will follow.

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