Businessman, Nevada resident of 68 years, Bartlett dies at 83

Longtime Nevada businessman Fred Bartlett strongly believed in keeping things organized. Even in his personal life, everything had to be in order.

"Years ago, we were about to go on a camping and fishing trip and Dad couldn't find his favorite piece of gear, so he made us clean up the whole garage before we could go," David Bartlett said. "It took us about two hours."

That same dedication to organization made Bartlett a business success in both ends of this state during five decades.

Fred H. Bartlett, who owned Bartlett Ford in Reno in the 1960s and '70s and before that was longtime manager at National Coal in downtown Las Vegas, died Saturday at the Torrey Pines Care Center. He was 83.

Bartlett, a Nevada resident for 68 years, died of heart failure brought on by pneumonia that resulted from complications of a stroke he suffered just before Thanksgiving, his family said.

A memorial service for Bartlett, who lived in Las Vegas for 37 years and Reno for 31 years, will be 2 p.m. Thursday at Palm Mortuary-Jones.

"My father loved the many outdoor activities that Nevada offered," David Bartlett said. "He enjoyed playing golf in Las Vegas and hunting, fishing and camping in the mountains of Northern Nevada."

Born June 10, 1915, in a log cabin on a small family farm in Mountain View, Wyo., Bartlett was the youngest of eight children of carpenter Byron "Barney" Bartlett and the former Dessa Ann Wilstead.

In 1930, Bartlett, then 15, moved to Las Vegas with his family. His father helped build, among other structures, the Little Church of the West wedding chapel on the Strip.

As a senior at Las Vegas High School in 1933, Bartlett was the manager of the Boulder Echo yearbook. After graduating, he went to work for Las Vegas Laundry and soon became manager of that downtown facility.

In the mid-1930s, Bartlett was hired by the business firm of Richardson-Lovelock to run its National Coal business on Main Street and its National Ice company out of the old Ice House, which then stood in the Union Pacific Railroad yard.

In 1936, Bartlett met Pauline Lorenzi, then a clerk at National Coal. She was a daughter of Twin Lakes developer David Lorenzi, a member of one of Las Vegas' oldest families.

On Sept. 19, 1937, they married in the Lorenzi family home, which then stood on a site that became part of Lorenzi Park, which today is one of the city's top recreational facilities. Pauline Lorenzi Bartlett survives him.

During World War II, Bartlett served in the Army as a stateside accountant for the infantry. After the war, he returned to Las Vegas for a brief period.

When Richardson-Lovelock bought a Ford dealership in Reno in 1946, the Bartletts moved there and Fred ran the business, which he bought in 1965. Twelve years later, he sold Bartlett Ford and retired to Las Vegas.

During his second stay in Las Vegas, Bartlett spent much of his time playing golf at the Spanish Trail Country Club, where he was a longtime member.

Bartlett also was a member of several civic groups, including the Las Vegas Elks Lodge, where he was a past exalted ruler.

Other local organizations to which Bartlett belonged included the Masons and Scottish Rite. He also was a past district governor for Rotary International.

In Northern Nevada, Bartlett was past president of the Reno Executives Club and Reno Rotary Club. For 20 years, he served on the Reno Board of Selective Service before the military draft was discontinued in the mid-1970s.

"Dad was involved in many civic groups because he saw it as his way of helping people and helping his community," said David Bartlett, who works in the Las Vegas rental car industry.

"As a businessman and owner of a car dealership, he set an example for honesty."

In addition to his wife and son, Bartlett is survived by another son, Gary Bartlett of Reno; a sister, Vesta Berger of San Jose, Calif.; six grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.

Donations: In Bartlett's memory to Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders and to the Shriners Crippled Children's Hospital.

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