John Bartle Passes June 10th
John Thomas Bartle, age 60, passed away unexpectedly at home on Friday, June 10, 2022.
John was born in St. Paul on October 25, 1961, to the late Edward F. “Bud” Bartle and the late Alice M. (Christensen) Bartle. He was raised and educated in St. Paul area schools, and he was fortunate to study abroad in Denmark during his junior year of high school. John received his BA from Rutgers University and his MA and PhD in Slavic Languages and Literatures from Indiana University.
John’s academic career at Hamilton College began in 1989. He rose to the rank of Associate Professor of German and Russian Languages and Literatures and served many years as the chair of his department and of English for Speakers of Other Languages. John was a member of the American Council for Teachers of Russian, the American Association for Teachers of Slavic and Eastern European Languages, and the American Council for Teachers of Foreign Languages. He served as the book review editor for the Slavic and East European Journal from 2000 until 2018.
During his tenure at Hamilton, John became interested in the refugee population in Utica, New York. He served as the co-director of Hamilton College’s Refugee Project and worked on the short films “Genesee Lights” and “The Newcomers.”
John was proud to live in Utica and to be an active member of the community. He often volunteered with Olmstead City of Greater Utica, and he served on the boards of Midtown Utica Community Center, the Utica Public Library, and Dollars for Scholars.
To know John was to love him. His energy, enthusiasm, and curiosity for the things and people who interested him were palpable and memorable. His good humor and giving nature were legend.
John is survived by his wife, Alison Doughtie; his daughter, Emma Bartle; and his son, Mason Bartle, and fiancé, Erica Andriamaherimanana; his sister and brother-in-law, Margaret and Terry Wittler; and his brothers and their partners, Robert and Barbara Bartle, and Eli Bartle and Rick Boehm. John leaves behind many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, cousins, aunts, and uncles. He will be remembered by his in-laws, Gavin Doughtie, and Kristina Helwing; and his mother-in-law, Andrea Doughtie.
The family will honor John’s life privately. A memorial service will be held at a later time. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to Midtown Utica Community Center online at www.midtownutica.org, The Center (formerly Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees) online at www. thecenterutica.org/donate, the Utica Public Library online at www.uticapubliclibrary.org, the American Heart Association online at www.heart.org/donate, and/or the PAN Foundation online at www.panfoundation.org/donate.