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John K. Bartz Alexandria, VA QCWA # 36112 Chapter |91|212| |
John Kuonlet Bartz, M.D., Ph.D., age 76, passed away on September 20, 2022, after an extended illness. He lived with his wife in Alexandria, Virginia.
Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on November 14, 1945, to Ellwood and Rosamond Bartz, John attended Punahou School, where he graduated as valedictorian in 1963. He majored in physics and German at Stanford University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1967 with a commission in the U. S. Army Reserve. He then earned a Ph.D. in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry in 1972 from Yale University, followed by an M.D. at Yale in 1976. In 1980 he completed psychiatry residencies in Boston at McLean Hospital in affiliation with Harvard University and became board certified in adult and in child psychiatry. After that he entered private practice in psychiatry in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. In 1990, he began seven years of active duty in the U.S. Army Medical Corps and served in Germany during the first Gulf War, followed by assignments at Walter Reed in Washington, DC, and as Director of Mental Health at West Point Academy in New York. He concluded his military service as a Lieutenant Colonel, and in 1998 moved to Columbus, Ohio, where he practiced psychiatry in various settings, including a women's prison, a health insurance company, and VA hospitals and clinics where he treated many Vietnam veterans of his generation among other former military.
John was an amateur radio operator, having first obtained his FCC license in 1959 as a young teenager. He belonged to his high school ham radio club and outside of school he participated in the Air Force MARS (Military Affiliate Radio System) organization. Later, he became a member of Quarter Century Wireless Association. His training in radio communications, message-handling and civil defense procedures enabled John to interact with people of all ages and walks of life from various parts of the world and be prepared to assist in times of need.
John read voraciously across a wide spectrum of genres from his early childhood throughout his life, a habit that contributed to his advanced verbal skills and enjoyment of in-depth and wide-ranging conversations. He was fluent in several foreign languages, including German, Czech, and Hawaiian Pidgin. He twice hiked the pilgrimage route of the Camino de Santiago in Spain, including once backpacking his way on the full 500-mile path. John obtained a small commercial aircraft pilot's license and for a number of years he flew to spots throughout New England. He loved music, from his high school participation in band to his more recent playing with a ukulele club in northern Virginia. He closely followed national and international political and social developments and took seriously his role as an informed American citizen and patriot. John also was a good cook who prepared Asian dishes from his part-Chinese heritage. His enduring interest in things German, culinary and otherwise, related to his part-German ancestry.
A lifelong Christian, in 2001 John converted to the Roman Catholic faith, which became the guiding principle of his life. He dedicated himself to exploring the riches of the Catholic tradition and its various spiritualities. He read the Scriptures from beginning to end several times. He supported the work of the Catholic Church at home and abroad and was particularly devoted to the cause of preserving and protecting human life. His faith consoled him when his first wife of many years died, and it was the foundation of his marriage to his second wife.
Survivors include his wife, Evangeline Jones Bartz; stepdaughters, Catherine Abrahamson (Barry), Elizabeth Volkamer, and Julia Wisenberg; stepson, Andrew Wisenberg (Catherine); grandsons, Jacob and Noah Abrahamson; sisters, Barbara Osborn and Elizabeth Kingery; nephews, Steven and Scott Osborn and A.J. Kingery; and niece, Noelani Kingery. John was preceded in death by his father, Ellwood Lewis Bartz, mother, Rosamond Lau Bartz, and first wife, Zdenka Bartz.
Visitation will be Sunday, October 16, 2022, from 3:30-5:30 p.m. at Demaine Funeral Home, 520 S. Washington St., Alexandria, VA, with a Rosary at 4:30 pm. The Mass of Christian Burial will be Monday, October 17, 2022, at 2:30 p.m. at the Basilica of Saint Mary, 310 S. Royal St., Alexandria. Burial will be at Ivy Hill Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in memory of John K. Bartz to Eternal World Television Network, 5817 Old Leeds Road, Irondale, AL 25210, http://www.ewtn.com and to George Washington's Mount Vernon, Development Dept., PO Box 110, Mount Vernon, VA 22121, http://www.mountvernon.org