Martha Lydia Bartleson

Martha was born to Willard Bross and Kathleen (McDowell) Schick in San Francisco, CA in July of 1952. She spent her childhood years with her mom Kathleen, Uncle Joe and cousin Fred on the McDowell family farm in Athena, OR and with her dad Bill, step-mother Noeline and step-sister Ann in Portola, CA. In her teenage years, Martha moved to Spokane, WA where she attended St. Georges School and met her future husband, Dwight Bartleson. She and Dwight married on January 8th of 1972. They eventually moved to the family farm in Athena, OR to raise their three children- Todd, Elizabeth and Gwynne.

Martha graduated from Eastern Oregon State College in 1989 with her degree in Education. She was the coolest teacher at Athena-Weston Middle School for 16 years, teaching English Literature to 7th and 8th graders there. During her time at AWMS she was also a fixture at Volleyball and Basketball games running the concession stand with students, and she cofounded an innovative STEM program with fellow teachers.

Martha also had a second career as an executive assistant at Insitu, helping to develop drone technology, something she was very proud of. It was during her time at Insitu when Martha met Marc Berry and fell in love. They spent 14 happy years together, living in Mosier, OR and Laguna, CA.

Mom was a free-spirit, an O.G. hippie who loved to laugh and have a good time with everyone. She had an amazing ability to make life long connections and friendships everywhere she went, all throughout her life and she maintained many strong bonds until the very end. Mom was living her best life in retirement with Marc, when it was tragically cut short in a car accident.

We (Martha's family) are grateful that Mom was able to move closer to all of us in the last several years when she purchased a home in Albany, OR. We are all devasted by her loss.

Martha is survived by Marc Berry, her life partner of 14 years. We are all very thankful that Marc survived the accident with minimal injuries. Marc has long been a steady and loving presence in Mom's life.

She is survived by: her son Todd Bartleson, his wife Heather and their two daughters Luna and Ruby; her daughter Elizabeth Youngblood and her child Violet; her daughter Gwynne Foster and her two children William and Emmalene; her ex-husband Dwight Bartleson; her daughter from another mother Megan Corwin, her husband Robert, their son Gabriel and Meg's actual mom and Mom's bestie Kim; her step-mother Noeline Bross, sister Ann and her family; her first cousin and our "Uncle" Fred McDowell and his family; her many wonderful friends; and finally all the students she taught at AWMS.

There will be a viewing and service at 1pm on December 8th at Fisher Funeral Home, 306 SW Washington St in Albany, OR. There will also be a Celebration of Life for Martha on May 4th in Athena, OR with more details to follow.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Martha Bartleson Memorial Scholarship Fund on go-fund me, so Martha can continue supporting education from the other side. www.gofundme.com/f/martha-bartleson-memorial-scholarship-fund