Barbara Ann Bartlett was born January 2nd 1935 to Emery and Melita (Vail) Whitbeck. She grew up on the family farm in Jermyn Pennsylvania. As the oldest of five children, she helped not only with farm, garden and household chores but also the management of her younger siblings. She attended school in Scott township. Music was always an important part of Barbara’s life. In high-school she played an E flat horn in the band and sang in the choir and a girls’ chorale. She also learned to play the piano which began a lifelong passion for music.

After graduation Barbara worked for awhile as a telephone operator and was a cook at Heart Lake Camp. One of her memories of that experience was when someone donated a roast of bear meat for her to cook. She had never done that before but managed to make it edible. Her cousin Merle asked her to help care for his children when his wife had a baby. He was the pastor of the Pines Brook Baptist Church at the time, and it was there that Barbara met the love of her life Douglas Bartlett.

They were married in 1958. After residing a short time on Liberty Street, they moved to a home on lower Pines Brook where they raised four children. In 1975 they fulfilled a dream of building a home on Chipmunk Hollow and moved in the following year. This home became a haven for family and visiting missionaries and a destination for the Sunday School hayride. For many years Douglas and Barbara had huge gardens with abundant produce. They enjoyed sharing the extra with anyone who could use it. Barbara became famous for her “Company Best” sweet pickles and especially for her dill pickles. There was just something about the dillies that no one else could ever quit replicate even with her recipe.

Barbara was a member of the Pines Brook Baptist Church and loved playing the piano for services and special music. She also gave lessons to many children in the community. Later in life she also learned to play the accordion. Another of her passions was teaching children. She and Douglas taught many different ages and groups from tots to teens, but she especially enjoyed VBS, sharing the good news of salvation with the children. In the later years she was pleased to find former students bringing their children and then grandchildren to her class. The decorations and interesting objects displayed were sure to have students from all classes stopping by for a visit. Another area that Barbara enjoyed was making quilts. Over the years many missionaries were blessed by a quilt that was started by Barbara and tied by the ladies’ missionary group. After Douglas’ death she made use of the hours she had available to take on a new ministry, making baby quilts. She made about 500 of them in those 5 years. Most of them were sent to the hospital in Taos, New Mexico where they were given to newborns.

Barbara was a faithful reader of God’s Word. Every morning you would see her reading the Bible as she ate her breakfast. She also faithfully prayed for her family and for missionaries.

Barbara was a helpmeet in the truest sense of the word, working beside Douglas on carpentry or electrical projects and as they toiled in the garden. Many people commented over the years that they never knew a couple who worked together so well. They had 63 wonderful years together. In Douglas’s final years Babara truly demonstrated the wedding vow “in sickness and in health”, caring for him to the end. During these last couple of years as she fought her own battle with cancer, she was strong and courageous, seldom complaining about the pain and indignity of it all. She kept crocheting, sewing and working in the garden until her fall. Even in her last days she found ways to give to others.

Barbara was predeceased by her loving husband Douglas, baby grandson John Douglas Romansky and three brothers, Richard, Keith and David Whitbeck. She is survived by her sister, Audrey Villano, four children Ellen Diem (Ron), Jonathan Bartlett (Beth), Susan Romansky (John) and Judy Kinne (Gary); seven grandchildren Alisha Dean, Duane Kinne, Gary Kinne (Shaelie), Clint Kinne, Joseph Bartlett (Miah), Jordan Bartlett (Amber) and Makayla Romansky; and eight great grandchildren Natalie, Conner, Damien and Addison Dean, Colt Andersen, River and Atlas Bartlett and Wyatt Kinne.

Her music, her lasagna, her applesauce, her pickles, her smile and her love will be missed by us all.

Services will be held at 10:00 Am Tuesday September 1, 2026, in Pines Brook Baptist Church 1444 Pines Brook Road Walton NY 13856 Burial will be in Walton Cemetery 55 Fancher Avenue Walton NY 13856.

Calling hours are from 5-7 Pm Monday August 31, 2026, at Courtney Funeral Home 25 Townsend Street Walton, New York.

Contributions in honor of Barbara may be made to Pines Brook Baptist Church Children’s Ministries 1444 Pines Brook Road Walton, New York 13856.

To offer sympathy please visit www.courtneyfh.com