10/09/2026
Due to the funeral being before next week's paper is published, here is the obituary for Carl Bartel. Full obituary will still be published in next week's edition.
Carl Edgar Bartel was born November 1,1932 on the family farm in Isabella, OK, and went to be with his Lord & Savior October 3, 2026. He was the middle child, 6th of eleven children born to Peter V. & Bienna (Kliewer) Bartel. Carl enjoyed life on the farm with his brothers & sisters. There was never a lack of chores or someone to play with. Older siblings cared for the younger & his older sister Elsie was often his overseer & he was very close to her. One of his first summer jobs as a teenager, was farming work for his brother-in-law Eugene Sallaska & Rollin Frantz in Balko, OK. He also worked one summer for Hallren’s Poultry in town. During those early years, he learned the art of welding from Vic Smith who not only taught him welding but how to hard surface plow shears. That welding skill he found would benefit him later on in life. He also learned that if you trapped skunks & sold their pelts you could earn some good pocket money, which wasn’t very popular with his mother, who would make him stand by the burning trash to get rid of the smell. The Bartel boys were acrobats at home playing in the yard & Carl picked up the skill of walking on his hands. He kept that skill up into his middle age life, entertaining his kids & grandkids until his wife put a stop to it as he was hitting the light fixtures in the house.
He accepted the Lord as his Savior at the age of 8 years during a revival at the South Church & later at age 10 was baptized at the sand pit. He attended Progressive School as a child, 2 years at Fairview High School then transferred to Corn Bible Academy, where he graduated. Carl attended 1 semester at Tabor College in Hillsboro, KS and then returned to Fairview to work with his brother Walt for a time, forming their own business, Bartel Brother’s Welding, where they did welding & repair work until he was drafted into the Army. He served during the Korean War and worked in the dental lab, being honorably discharged as a corporal. It was during the time he was stationed in St.Louis, MO. He was introduced to a beautiful nursing student, Virginia Katzung. They were both attending a social event at the 3rd Baptist Church & roller skating. A friend of hers brought them together by telling Gin “you need to meet that handsome soldier across the room, Gin says “well introduce me sometime,” her friend acted immediately & rolled her right into Carl. They dated for 2 years until January of 1955 when they became engaged & then married October 1, 1955. Their union lasted for 61 years until God called Virginia home in August 2017. He was a loving, dedicated husband & caregiver.
Carl & Gin moved into a small apartment in Enid, Ok after their honeymoon to the Ozarks. There Carl worked at Failing Corp, while Gin worked as a surgical nurse at St.Mary’s Hospital. After a short time they moved to a small farm south of Fairview where their first daughter Deborah Kay was born. He decided he wanted to study to be a telegrapher for the Railroad so he moved his family to Pueblo, Co. After 6 months of training they bought a trailer & moved to Harper, KS there Carl worked at railroad depots & Dewey Redi Mix concrete plant. While in Harper their son, Chris Duane was born. They later built a small house across the street from the trailer court & lived in Harper for 4 years. During that time Carl & Gin attended the Chicaska Baptist Church where he taught Sunday School & sang in a quartet. Carl began to feel the desire to return home to farm & raise cattle so he purchased the Bartel homeplace from his Dad & the family moved back to Fairview. At the farm they welcomed their 2nd daughter Julie Ann. During the winter months, Carl worked at Fairview Pipe & Supply for Harry Martens, as a welder. In 1966 Carl sold the farm, moved the family to town & went into partnership with Harry Martens forming MaBar Inc. There he was Vice President, working in truck modification & installations. Their company manufactured grain bodies and feeders. After adding on to the original building they found they needed even more space as the company grew so a new building was constructed north of town & the business was moved in 1974. They expanded the business with sand & gravel dump bodies, stock racks & other specialty equipment. He semi retired in 1997 & fully retired September 11, 2001. During the time he worked at MaBar he purchased land SW of Fairview & continued to farm, raising wheat & cattle. Carl installed all the fence on his land, every post dug by a posthole digger & a lot of muscle.
Carl was a very active member of the Fairview Mennonite Brethren Church, serving many years on the board of trustees, he & Gin served together on the dining hall committee, & he took training to help start the Boys Brigade program on Wednesday nights. During one of the camp outs he had an encounter with his future son in law, Doug Wiens who thought he could easily push him in the creek as he was older, Carl promptly tossed him in instead, to his surprise. He was an active part of the construction of the new MB church crew. Most of all, Carl loved to sing & had a great baritone voice. He sang in the choir & male chorus. He especially loved the old hymns sung in harmony. Carl was a faithful example to his family in his time with the Lord, his children remembering how Dad’s Bible was open on the kitchen table every morning, where he would study God’s word.
Carl was a behind the scenes kind of guy, a great volunteer, neighbor & friend. He flipped pancakes for years for community fundraisers, donating his time & supplies probably raising thousands of dollars for various causes & organizations. He along with his son, Chris designed & built the Christmas angels that have lined the main street of Fairview for the past 37 years. He helped those in need whether it was a farmer friend needing help with fieldwork, an unscheduled repair needed on equipment or a friend who had Leukemia who needed regular donations of platelets, he was there. Carl was an active member of the Lions Club for 56 years. He was awarded the Chamber of Commerce Volunteer of the year & Lifetime achievement for community service.
Carl had many friends during the years but his best friend was his brother Walt. Their work ethic & thinking was so in tune. All they needed was a concrete floor & piece of chalk & they could construct or figure anything out between the two of them. They worked together not only in the early years in business but later worked tirelessly together on Walt’s farm, welding fence, constructing a tall deer stand & a magnificent bridge on the property. Carl had a love for the outdoors & gardening. He loved to sit outside & just enjoy watching nature. He always had roses to tend to, even when he moved to the Fellowship Home apartments he had a small bed to water & prune. Carl was a proud veteran & was an avid supporter of the American Flag. He had a flagpole with a light that he erected at the apartments & he took care of seeing to it the flag was always flying. He enjoyed the time spent with his brothers & sisters at the many Bartel Family reunions. The vacations to Lake City, CO & Red River, NM were some of his favorites as he loved the mountains. When he broke his arm falling from a scaffold at work he decided to take the family to visit relatives & see the sights in California for 2 weeks since he couldn’t work, driving all the way with just one arm.
Carl loved being a Dad but he really loved being a grandpa. Each of his grandkids & great grandkids were special. He loved hunting, camping out & fishing with them. Many hours were spent together at the farm pond. He was a huge supporter of anything in school they were involved with whether it was music or sports. When attending football or basketball games in Fairview it was clear he was there to watch his granddaughters cheer not to necessarily watch the game. He loved it when they would come to visit him in his older years & just get those hugs. One of his proudest moments was when his grandson Zane graduated as a Firefighter & he got the privilege of pinning on his badge.
It was important to Carl to teach his children integrity, a strong work ethic & most of all to love the Lord. His biggest desire was that his children & grandchildren would be with him someday where he is now, in Heaven. Carl leaves a legacy of love, strength & integrity. He will forever be missed by his family who survives, son, Chris Bartel & wife Teena of Fairview, OK., daughters, Debbie Wiens & husband Doug of Fairview, OK., & Julie Abshire & husband Troy of Clinton, LA. Brother, Leroy & Marilyn Bartel, sister, Edna & Wayne Decker, brother in laws, Sam Scholl & Roy Short, sister-in-law, Winnie Bartel. Grandchildren, Amanda & Mark Caywood, Sara & Austin Hurst, Matthew & Madelene Rogers, Emily & Michael Meyers, Zane Schmidt & Tate Schmidt. Great grandchildren, Emma & Ella Hurst, Bridget, Chris & Sam Caywood, Rowyn, Lydia, Owen, Brennan & Amelia Rogers, Alexis & Avery Schmidt. He was preceded in death by his wife, Virginia, parents, 4 brothers & 4 sisters.
Memorial services will be held at 10:30 a.m., Monday, October 12, 2026 at the Fairview M.B. Church, Fairview, Oklahoma with Pastor Travis Schmidt officiating. Visitation with the family present will be held from 6-8 p.m., Sunday evening at Pierce Funeral Home, Fairview. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made through the Pierce Funeral Home to the Fairview Fellowship Home. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.piercefuneralhomes.com.
