Marlene Bartels 12/11/2020

On Friday, December 11, 2020, Marlene Bartels, cherished wife, mother of four, grandmother of 12, and great-grandmother of two, passed away at the age of 82 in New Richmond due to coronavirus.  Marlene Mae Stearns was born on December 19, 1937, ten minutes after her twin sister, Darlene, at Lakeside Hospital in Rice Lake, Wisconsin to Kenneth and Lillian Stearns. Marlene had a happy childhood with her close-knit siblings: Donna, Darlene, Jerry, and Russel.  Music, church, and a love for working with children directed Marlene’s path throughout life. Marlene and her siblings grew up singing in church in Rice Lake. Later, Marlene taught Sunday School and led the children’s singing on Sunday mornings for many years at the United Methodist Church in New Richmond.  Marlene and Ted went on their first date when Ted was home on leave from the Navy. He would tell the story of seeing Marlene and Darlene one day boarding the bus, and he said to a friend, “Those Stearns twins are pretty cute.” When he called their house, Marlene answered and said she’d be happy to go on a date with him. They got married on July 28, 1962.  Marlene began her professional life as a beautician and then started babysitting in her home from 1967 to 1976 when she opened Bartels’ Kiddyland Childcare Center. She loved her day care kids and their parents, and the women she worked with became extended family. Her hands were always busy: making art projects, singing fingerplays, telling felt board stories, making lunch, doing laundry, changing diapers, wiping noses, and teaching kids to tie their shoes. Marlene loved decorating for the holidays–especially Halloween. She looked forward to seeing her former daycare kids and then their kids come to trick-or-treat. Christmas was another favorite holiday. It would take days to decorate the house and even longer to take everything down and put it all away. Each year, she’d wonder and grumble about why she felt the need to decorate so much. So when you plug in your holiday lights this season, think of Marlene. But for Heaven’s sake, she would advise you not to light a candle because that would be dangerous.  Marlene was a loving, protective mother who expected the best behavior from her kids: Todd, Terry, Tracy, and Kenna. As a young mother, she saved money to buy everyone matching holiday outfits and made sure everyone’s hair looked perfect for church. Marlene and Ted attended every athletic event, music concert, parade, and ceremony for their kids no matter how far they had to travel.  After retirement, she began caring for her grandchildren and special friends, helped Ted deliver flowers for Shoots and Stems and clean the United Methodist church. They spent many years together attending events for their grandkids, traveling to visit friends and family, sitting on their front porch, and just enjoying each other’s company. Ted was her constant companion and true love until he died in April of 2019.  Known for her sparkly, blue eyes and mischievous smile, Marlene had a resilient spirit and a great sense of humor.

• She always introduced Darlene as her “identical, beautiful twin sister.”
• Twenty years ago, Marlene found out she had a benign brain tumor, so she named it Arlene, claiming it was a triplet that she had consumed in vitro.
• Whenever it was pointed out that she was driving over the speed limit, she’d declared that it was alright because she had “lightning fast” reactions.
• Alzheimer’s Disease claimed large segments of her memory and her ability to speak more than a few words at a time, but not her sense of humor. When Darlene, brother Jerry, and his wife, Marilyn came to visit Marlene at Our House Assisted Living last summer, Jerry said he remembered the twins wearing matching dresses when they were kids. “Mar looked cute and Dar looked ugly,” he quipped. When Darlene asked Marlene to stick up for her, Marlene looked from Darlene to Jerry and said with a smile, “He’s always right.”

Marlene was preceded in death by her husband, Ted, her parents, her brother, Russell, and her sister, Donna. She is survived by her sister Darlene Folstad (Bud), brother, Jerry Stearns (Marilyn), her four children Todd Bartels (Robin), Terry Bartels, Tracy Preece (Mike), Kenna Swiggum (Lance), her 12 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.  A Funeral Service was held on Tuesday, December 15th, 2020 at 11 am at Bakken-Young Funeral & Cremation Services 728 S Knowles Avenue New Richmond, WI.  Visitation was also on Tuesday from 10-11 am the funeral home.  Interment was in the New Richmond Cemetery.  Arrangements are with Bakken-Young Funeral & Cremation Services.

Click here to watch the recording of Marlene’s service