posted 07/15/10 10:08 AM | updated 07/16/10 02:57 PM
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Robert W. Bartlett, Retired Attorney & Newspaper Reporter, Dies

By Jo Murray
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Robert W. Bartlett II on the ski slopes

Robert W. Bartlett II, 76, retired attorney and newspaper reporter, died Tuesday at his home in Hailey after a two-year battle with cancer.
 
A Wood River Valley resident for 25 years, he was best known for his twin passions: a commitment to the environment and a commitment to helping the “little guy” find his way through the legal system.
 
“Bob cared passionately about the kind of world that he would be leaving to his grandnieces and grandnephews. He was a donor to environmental organizations. He spoke tirelessly with conservation leaders and offered his opinions and suggestions for direction,” said state Rep. Wendy Jaquet.
 
“As an attorney, Bob was well known in the vulnerable communities as a ‘go-to guy’ whenever someone needed help,” she added. He worked at reduced fees for dozens of people who otherwise could not have afforded legal help.

 A lifelong bachelor, he liked having his friends around. When he moved to Idaho from San Francisco, he first lived in a condo carefully selected for its location within walking distance of Sun Valley’s River Run ski lift. “If I had an extra bedroom by the lift, I knew I would have as much company as I wanted,” he said.

Ketchum resident Jo Murray was one of those frequent visitors in the 80s and 90s. “Bob worked with my husband at the San Francisco Chronicle,” she said. “After my husband died, Bob knew I needed an escape during the holidays. He wrote me a note saying, ‘My house is your house’ I spent three Christmases as his houseguest until I got my own place. I doubt that I would have moved here otherwise.”
 
He made a point of keeping in touch with old friends. He went to Yale reunions whenever possible. When Pulitzer Prize winner and historical author David McCullough signed books in Ketchum, it was Mr. Bartlett who introduced him.
 
Mr. Bartlett devoted hours to reading and keeping up with current events. He was never shy with his opinions. “He loved a good argument,” said longtime friend Marge Slotten of Twin Falls. “I think that is why he enjoyed the law so much.”
 
In the weeks before his death, he often told friends that he should have paid more attention to his health. He said it without bitterness; it was just fact. He specifically asked that his obituary include one statement: He hoped his death would persuade others to have regular colon examinations and other preventive medical care when their doctors advise it.

Mr. Bartlett was born in Atlantic City, N.J., on Sept. 8, 1933. He was a graduate of Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, N.J., in 1951; Yale College in 1955 and the University of California Hastings College of the Law in 1966.
 
After college, he worked as a reporter for the St. Petersburg Times before joining the U.S. Army, serving in counter-intelligence in Germany. The Army was a necessity to fulfill his military obligation but not his concept of the ideal job. Years later he remembered that he was on active duty for 3 years, 4 months, 17 days, 9 hours and 22 minutes.
 
After leaving the military, he worked as a reporter for the Dayton Daily News and The Wall Street Journal Chicago bureau. When that job ended, he searched the ads and found an opening at the Twin Falls Times-News in 1959. It was there that he learned to appreciate Idaho’s mountains and wildflowers, which he frequently photographed. He also began skiing, a sport he enjoyed as recently as last winter. 

Mr. Bartlett left the Twin Falls newspaper for San Francisco and law school at Hastings. While in law school, he also worked as a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, where he covered environmental issues.

 He returned to Idaho in 1985, working as an attorney in Twin Falls, Wendell and Hailey before his retirement. 

Mr. Bartlett is survived by his brother and sister-in-law, Ben and Ann Bartlett of St. Petersburg, Fla.; his nephew, Lee Bartlett of Oxford, Ohio; his nieces, Kathy Peterson of Apex, N.C., and Beth Bartlett and Amy Pope, both of St. Petersburg; and 9 grandnieces and grandnephews. At his request, there will be no services.

 Donations may be made in his memory to the Wrexham Foundation, Aka Manuscript Society, c/o Mary Miller, Ph.D., Dean of Yale, P.O. Box 208241, New Haven, CT 06520-8241.

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Bob Bartlett
It has been a genuine pleasure to know Bob over the past 15 years, which doesn't seem like much, when compared to some of his friends with whom he stayed in touch, dating back to his grade school days.

His kindness and generosity will always be remembered.
Comment by Gloria Carlton
1 month ago
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