Violet M. Bartell, age 85, died on Friday, January 20th, 2017 at Charleston House in Beaver Dam, WI.
The visitation will be at Koepsell-Murray Funeral Home in Beaver Dam on Tuesday, January 24, 2017 from 10:00 a.m. until the time of the funeral service at 11:00 a.m. Fr. Ken Klink will be officiating and burial will be at Highland Memory Gardens in the Town of Trenton, Dodge County, Wisconsin.
Vi was born on January 8th, 1932 in Beaver Dam. She graduated from Beaver Dam High School in 1949. She received an X-ray degree from the University of Wisconsin and spent decades in the Wisconsin hospital system, working in X-ray, nuclear medicine and radiation safety. She lived half of her adult life in the town of Brooklyn, WI. Vi was proceeded in death by her father, Ted and mother, Gladys. She is survived by her son, Tim and her sister, Audrey.
Vi was a true individual, often flying in the face of convention. She converted to Catholicism when that wasn’t something a lot of people did. She became a single parent long before it was widely accepted, and bought a house on her own when single women rarely did so.
But perhaps her bravest act of individualism was being a Cardinals fan in Packer Country. She met the then Chicago Cardinals at a football training camp in Beaver Dam in 1949 and was a loyal fan the rest of her life. A loyalty she characterized as misguided given the Cardinals’ sometimes woeful play. She was also loyal to the Wisconsin Badgers. At a game once, when it was freezing cold and her son suggested perhaps they exit early, given the Badgers were losing to Ohio State 56-0… Vi replied, “Real fans stay until the end.” That was Vi, loyal until the end.
In her life, Vi was organized, meticulous, prepared. Her son joked that if a tidal wave somehow hit rural Wisconsin, Mom would be ready. She would soon be out in a rubber raft, dispensing canned goods to the neighbors.
Vi loved MASH, The Godfather, Woody Allen films, Glenn Ford, PBS, classical music, her newspaper, M&M’s, laughter, rainy days, winter and her beloved friends and family. And she loved being a Mom. She was always a busy person and cracked wise that someday her tombstone would read, “But I haven’t caught up yet!” At long last, Vi has caught up.
The Koepsell-Murray Funeral Home in Beaver Dam is caring for the family. To leave online condolences, or for directions and other information, please visit our website at www.KoepsellFH.com
