Obituary of Marjorie Lou (Wills) Bartlett

The family of Marjorie Bartlett announces with much sadness--along with gratitude recalling a life of great generosity, loyalty and love--her death in Hospice House, Fredericton, on November 8, 2023, five weeks short of her 95th birthday.

Mardi was born in 1928 to Curtis and Clara (Camick) Wills of Lancaster (West Saint John), NB. She is survived by her six children, Bruce (Silvana), Gail (Bob) McLeod, Brian (Karen), Carol Comeau, Andrew (Joanne) and Mark (Sue), as well as by seven grandsons (Jon, Ben, Dan, Josh, Joseph, Aaron, Torben), four granddaughters (Adrianna, Pippa, Laura, Michaela), two great-granddaughters (Molly, Annie) and one great-grandson (Omari); a sister, Marilyn Patterson; and many nephews and nieces. She was pre-deceased by husband Lester Bartlett (1925-2019), brother Roy, sister-in-law Isabelle Wills, brother-in-law Walter Patterson, eight Bartlett in-laws, son-in-law Michael Comeau, and cousin Virginia ("Ginny") Chaffey. 

In her youth Mardi was the 1945 valedictorian for Saint John High School, speaking thankfully about the cessation of World War II in Europe. After teaching for a term in a one-room schoolhouse in Tynemouth Creek near St. Martins, she attended Normal School in Fredericton during the first half of 1947. At a youth gathering at Brunswick Street Baptist Church she met her future husband, Lester Bartlett, a B.Sc. student from Bartletts Mills, Charlotte County. While they dated long-distance, Mardi taught elementary-school classes at Beaconsfield School in Saint John for two years. After their marriage in July 1949, they moved to Edmundston, NB, where their first son, Bruce, was born the next year.

Following a few years in St. Stephen, NB, Mardi and Les moved to Fredericton for the rest of their lives. Mardi was an energetic homemaker with a fine eye for detail and a fondness for flowers. She and Les travelled to England, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Halifax, Arizona and New York--all for the sake of enjoying days with their children and grandchildren. Mardi's Christian faith was deep. For over half a century she and Les were members of Brunswick Street Baptist Church, where she served as Financial Secretary, as well as participating in the WMS (Women's Missionary Society) and Bible-study groups. She sang in the church choir for fifty-five years, and was inspired by music until her final days. In the community at large she belonged to the IODE and took on part-time jobs in a jewelry store and the UNB Science and Engineering Library.

Mardi was an enthusiastic, skilled knitter of sweaters, afghan blankets, mittens, socks and scarves, for both family and charity. She was also a daily tea-drinker, a collector of miniature tea-cups and -pots, a scrapbook-maker, and a tireless reader of everything from classic 19th-century novels, Canadian fiction and British mysteries to biographies and spiritual meditations. Her family and friends will warmly remember Mardi's kindness, disciplined taking care of business, and quiet humour.

The family wishes to give special thanks to the employees of Ste. Anne's Court and Brunswick Hall (Shannex), who gave much support and comfort to Mardi in her later years.

Her funeral will be held at Brunswick Street Baptist Church, Fredericton, Wednesday, November 15,at 1:00 p.m. Interment will follow two days later in Oak Bay Rural Cemetery, Charlotte County, NB.

Donations in honour of Mardi can be made to Brunswick Street Baptist Church, Hospice House or a charity of one's choice.