Richard Alan Bartz, 91, passed away October 9th a Mercy Hospital in Valley City under CHI hospice care.
He was born April 16, 1931 at his grandparents’ home near Valley City to Marguerite and Otto Bartz.
He attended school at Sanborn, ND through the fifth grade and grades 7 through 9 at John Marshall School in Minneapolis, and was confirmed at St. Petri Lutheran Church in Minneapolis as well. In March 1946, they returned to Valley City where he finished the 9th grade at College High and graduated from Valley City High School in 1949.
Richard worked for several neighborhood farmers until March 19th, 1952 when he was called up to serve in the Army at Fort Gordon, Georgia then sent to Taegu air base in the Republic of Korea as a cryptographer. He later returned to Fort Lewis, Washington and was honorably discharged December 21, 1953.
Richard bought his first land of the family Centennial farm in the fall of 1956 and started farming in 1957, continuing until he retired in 1996. On June 18, 1967 he married Marlene Vollmer at Trinity Lutheran Church in Drake, ND. They continued to live on the farm until 2014 when they moved into Valley City.
Richard enjoyed many pastimes including crossword puzzles, carpentry, 4-wheeling, and drives in the country. He was an active Boy Scout and 4H leader as well. He served many years on church, school and township boards. He loved his family, music, and traveling. He sang in both the church choir, with the Valley Troubadours and performed many solos for weddings and funerals.
Richard enjoyed traveling with his family to many places in the US, to Norway with the Valley Troubadours, to Italy where his son was stationed in the Marines and to Hawaii. He especially enjoyed his Veteran’s Honor Flight with his son to Washington DC in 2019.
Richard was preceded in death by his parents and step-father, William Kehoe, his sister and brother-in-law Lenora and Lester Jenson, his brother Donald and an infant brother.
He is survived by his wife Marlene, his son Scott, his daughter Jody (Dennis) Haugen, 5 grandchildren Bryan Bartz; Andy, Mike, Erin and Abby Haugen; a brother-in-law Dennis and Bonnie Vollmer and several nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be Thursday, October 13th from noon to 2 pm followed by the funeral at 2:00 pm at Faith Lutheran Church, Valley City. Burial will be at Faith Lutheran Cemetery, Valley City.
Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to the Oliver-Nathan Funeral Chapel, Valley City. An online guestbook is available at www.olivernathanchapel.com