Howard Frandsen Bartlett
Howard Frandsen Bartlett
1931 – 2024
Howard Frandsen Bartlett peacefully passed from this life on Friday, December 13, 2024, at the age of 93.
Howard was born on mischief night, October 30, 1931, in Price, Utah, to Lena Frandsen Bartlett and June Elgar Bartlett. He was delivered by his grandmother, Lilly Bryner Frandsen, a midwife, in the basement of her home where Lena and June lived.
Howard attended the majority of his early schooling in Price. When his mother remarried, he moved with her to Lyman, Wyoming, where his classmates voted him Senior Class President. After graduation, they moved to Salt Lake City, where he attended the University of Utah and earned a bachelor’s degree in geology. His first job with Utah Construction took him to Shirly Basin, Wyoming, and Marcona, Peru. He paused his blossoming career to attend Graduate School at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Upon finishing there, his work with Utah Construction took him back to Peru and throughout the U.S.
In the winter of 1963, he met the love of his life, Collene Rothe, at a church dance in Salt Lake City. After a lot of convincing, Collene agreed to marry Howard in the Salt Lake City Temple on March 12, 1964.
The following years were filled with adventurous work trips and the thrilling arrival of two sons, Kurt and Troy. Over the years, the boys’ friends referred to Howard as Indiana Jones as his work took him across the globe, from the headwaters of the Amazon to 14,000 feet up in the Andes. Howard’s longer-term destinations included Portugal, Spain, Ukraine, West Africa, and all over North, Central, and South America. Howard loved his work, and though he tried to retire many times, he couldn’t stay home when the prospect of rocks came calling.
He was a great husband and father, and a dependable home teacher and church leader no matter how far he had to go. Throughout his various church assignments, Howard gave his time graciously, even working on church welfare farms with the boys in tow.
Through his many adventures, Howard learned to love the gift of languages. He fluently spoke Spanish like a Peruvian, and he could make do in French or Portuguese when English and Spanish didn’t do the trick.
As he aged, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, but it never stopped him from doing what he loved. Even in his final week of life, he was delighted by spending time with friends and family.
He is survived by his wife, Collene Martha Rothe Bartlett; his two sons, Kurt Howard Bartlett (Angela Marques Bartlett) and Troy Kristopher Bartlett (Laura Durtschi Bartlett); his sister, Marian Bartlett Brinton; his grandsons, Connor Alexander Bartlett (Annie Deere Bartlett), Stirling Bartlett, Gunnar Bartlett, Derrik Bartlett, João Augusto Marques, and Carla Cristine Marques; and his great-granddaughter Scottie Rothe Bartlett.
He is preceded in death by his brothers Ron Bartlett (Beth) and Richard Bartlett (Joyce), and grandson Kristopher Thomas Bartlett.
Funeral Services for Howard will be held on Friday, December 20, 2024, at the Lehi 36th Ward Chapel, located at 1631 East 900 North, Lehi, Utah 84043. Family and friends are invited to attend a visitation on Friday morning from 9:30-10:30 am prior to services at the church. Interment will follow service at the Heber City Cemetery.