Bob Bartley

Bob Bartley Obituary published in the BURGUM FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY Jourtnal January 2004.

Bob Leroy Bartley was born on October 12, 1937 at Marshall, Minnesota but he grew up in Ames, Iowa, where he met and married Edith Lillie. They married on December 19th 1960. They had been together since High School. Bob and Edith Bartley had three daughters - Beth, Katherine and Susan. Bob gained a Bachelor's Degree in journalism from Iowa State University and a Master's Degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin.

In 1962, at age 24, he got a job as a reporter in The Wall Street Journal's Chicago bureau. Within a few years, he was contributing to the editorial page. In 1972 Bob Bartley became editorial page editor of the Wall Street Journal and it was his editorials that won him a Pulitzer Prize in 1980. He was out-spoken on many issues including arms-control and the conduct of President Bill Clinton. Bob was named editor in 1979 and a vice president of the Dow Jones in 1983. He became editor emeritus in 2002 and continued to write a column called "Thinking Things Over" until November 2003.

Eight days before he died, on December 2, at 1:05 pm, Bob received a phone call from the White House. The President, from Air Force One, was calling to offer him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honour. He accepted. The citation to Bob included the words - "A champion of free markets, individual liberty and the values necessary for a free society, his writings have been characterized by profound insights, passionate convictions and an unyielding optimism in America."

During his life time, Bob also won the Gerald Loeb Award and a Citation for Excellence from the Overseas Press Club of America. He wrote the book "The Seven Fat Years: And How to Do It Again" in 1992, relating to President Reagan's economic policy. He was also awarded honorary degrees from Macalester College, Babson College and Adelphi University.

I wrote to Edith soon after I had heard that Bob had lost his fight with cancer. I hope she will forgive me if I publish my thoughts on a man I hardly knew. "Dear Edith - I am so sorry to hear that Bob has passed away and I cannot pretend to understand the grief you and your family must feel. I only met Bob a few times but, I too, feel the loss. During our visit to you in the summer, Bob confided to me just how ill he was and we all, of course, prayed for his recovery. From the President himself, and the award of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to the many journalists and friends, it was wonderful to read all the great things they had to say about him. Indeed, it was humbling to read about the man I had met at Brooklyn Heights and realise this man, who had quietly and respectfully allowed me into his home and entertained me, had such unassuming greatness. <>p< You must be so very proud to have shared in his success over so many years. Yet, I suspect that it is as a husband and a family man that you will remember him. I know that family is important to you and I feel sure you will have received much support from the girls and your brother and sisters during this difficult time."

The final words must belong to Edith Bartley, Great-granddaughter of A. T. Burgum. "We were lucky and we knew it. Bob and I did have time to say some of the important things to each other, and that was his word: Lucky. His career was exactly the one he wanted. Three beautiful, healthy children, a family all on good terms. More friends than time to spend with them. A house that was a home. His 43rd wedding anniversary imminent. A sense of God in his heaven. A good life. A good man."