Thomas Bartlett was a perfectionist. Life was glorious with a loving wife, vacation properties, a beautiful home, waterski trips and a fulfilling career.
He set and met goals, made meticulous lists, but there was one thing he could not control: Bartlett needed a liver transplant. His name was on a list of those who needed an organ to survive. He waited for a call saying a liver was ready for his body.
He waited.
And waited.
Bartlett died Sept. 27 at age 56. No one donated the organ that could have saved his life.
His father, Jack Bartlett, said his son was a respectful, sincere, honest, wonderful person. As a teen, the top student and athlete at Marysville High School worked at Bartlett Hardware, the family store.
“He did general cleanup, changed light bulbs, emptied waste baskets, that sort of thing,” his father said. “I asked him if he was interested in doing it for a living, but he said after seeing the hours I worked, he would pass on that one.”
Thomas Bartlett received a degree in electrical engineering at the University of Washington and worked for Intermec and PathGuide Technologies.
In 1977, Linda Little started her first day at Intermec, fresh out of college on her first big job.
“He was standing there and walked right up to me with the signature Bartlett grin and introduced himself,” she said. “It was a full-of-life grin.”
Back in the day, she said, the Intermec crew was close, spending time together out of the office.
Bartlett was one of the ringleaders.
“One of the things we all enjoyed was his energy,” Little said. “He was so positive, such a good worker and played so hard.”
Bartlett met his wife, then Janet Hamilton, at Intermec. She knew in 1984 that he had the same rare liver disease that cut short the life of football star Walter Payton.
For life partners and best friends, a bump on the health road doesn’t matter.
They married in 1985.
“He was short of stature, at 5 feet 7 inches tall, but a go-getter, like the Energizer bunny,” Janet Bartlett said. “He was a father figure for my kids.”
Bartlett is survived by his wife Janet; stepson, Andrew and Jana Hamilton of Camano Island; grandsons Austin and Elijah; stepdaughter, Jill Hamilton Saho and Ebou Saho of Mukilteo; grandsons, Donte’ and Andre’; father Jack and Mitzi Bartlett of Marysville; brothers David Bartlett of Bozeman, Mont., and Dan and Tami Bartlett of Marysville; niece Molly and nephew JJ; sister Janice and Eric Crocker of Marysville; nephews Nathan and Joseph; uncle Morgan and Sharon Bartlett of Stanwood; and in-laws Doris and Craig McLennan of Everett and Don and Patty Ayers of Burlington.
He was preceded in death by his mother, Gladys Bartlett.
Janet and Tom Bartlett built a home at Spee-Bi-Dah. She said her husband loved to read self-help books and apply what he learned, go to University of Washington football games and working around the house or at their vacation properties.
It was agonizing, she said, watching her husband wait for a new liver.
“It was disheartening,” Janet Bartlett said. “People would call and wonder why he hadn’t gotten the transplant.”
She said the waiting list system is complicated. Please ask folks, she said, to donate organs.
Her husband came close to a transplant in 2008. He got the thrilling call, rushed to the hospital, but the liver wasn’t usable. In August, he was diagnosed with gall bladder cancer. It was untreatable because of his liver condition and the Bartletts rushed to take one last trip to Hawaii.
Thomas Bartlett loved all kinds of music, especially rock, ate Mexican food and drove an Infiniti G35. He watched PBS on television, listened to National Public Radio and engineered every project to perfection.
Nonconfrontational, he didn’t discuss politics and made videos for his family after group trips.
Pressed to reveal something naughty about his child, Jack Bartlett said he could not think of a negative story.
“You just couldn’t ask for a better son, all the way around. To be lucky enough to have him as a son, it was pure joy.”
Kristi O’Harran: 425-339-3451, oharran@heraldnet.com.
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