In Memoriam: Alice Bartelt

We are deeply saddened by the loss of our dear colleague, Alice Bartelt, who has been President since May 2023 and long-standing Action Chair, trusted informally as Parliamentarian for the League of Women Voters of Oregon. Read more about Alice's life and legacy in her obituary.

A Celebration of Life for Alice Bartelt has been set for 4pm October 13.

Lisa Bentson, our First Vice President, and Rebecca Gladstone, Second Vice President, will be Acting Co-Presidents of the League of Women Voters of Oregon. Please contact lwvor@lwvor.org with any questions or messages you would like to share.

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Responses from members:

I always felt connected to Alice by her responsible activity on behalf of all us Leaguers and by extension all Oregonians. A loss for all LWVers of Oregon. My condolences you — and to family.

Fran Greenlee, Bend

This is so very sad. I send ALL of us sympathies for this unwelcomed event. She was one very special person.

Barbara Klein

This is truly sad news. What a loss for the League and all of us who worked with Alice for so many years.

Marge Easley

Oh dear! She will be so missed! She really cared so much about doing the right thing!

Josie Koehne

This is such sad news. What a great loss.

Katie Riley

Alice gave so much to the League for so long, as well as to her work as a parliamentarian. A great loss.

Debbie Kaye

Alice was a model for many of us. She could be responsible to groups, keeping up with her political commitments, but also keep an individual life. She could be generous and kind, and also keep things in order with Robert’s Rules. One of the lights in the room we were blessed to know.

Jody Wiser

Oh, my deepest sympathies to her family and friends. I had many positive experiences working alongside her at the capitol and in meetings. Alice, thank you for all you did for the people in this state.

John Bartholomew

My sympathies to Alice's family, friends, and her League family and friends too.

Carol Moon Goldberg

Condolences to all her family as well as to the League family.

Abigail Bok

In sadness I join you to mourn the passing of Alice Bartelt. What a woman. What a leader!

Please continue to keep all of us in the loop regarding any memorial service and how her memory can be honored.

Most Respectfully,

Kathleen Mason

A profound loss. Our condolences to Alice's loved ones and the LWV of Oregon community.

League of Women Voters of the United States

We will miss Alice, not only for her expertise, but for her grace.

Carolyn Buppert

Alice's passing has shocked and saddened so many of us. My sympathy to her family and to all those that love her. She had an impressive memory for Robert's Rules of Order and League protocol. At meetings I attended where she was Parliamentarian, she never referred to the rule book. She was organized, knowledgeable about so many things, gracious in conversation, and devoted to the League. Her passing is a loss to so many people.

Judy Froemke, LWVPDX Member Education Chair

I knew Alice as a dedicated, knowledgeable, respectful, and generous League leader. She was committed to helping the Oregon League achieve its advocacy priorities. She also kindly shared her time and expertise to serve as a parliamentarian and a speaker for local Leagues as well as LWVOR. Her death is a sad loss for all of us who knew her and who benefited from her service to the League and to Oregon.

Margaret Noel

We mourn the loss of this hardworking, effective leader. As chair of the League of Women Voters of Oregon's action on state issues, she made a difference to all Oregonians, and she will be sorely missed.

Peggy Bengry

I was so saddened to hear of the death of your president and wonderful League leader, Alice. I know her family and your league family are in mourning and devastated. I am reaching out to let you know that we are here to help in any way we can and mourn along with you. Take care and extend my condolences to your board and membership.

Yours in League,

Deborah Turner

My deepest sympathies on losing Alice. She was a guiding light in our League as Chair of the LWVOR Action Committee and newly elected President. Her contributions and work ethic were an inspiration to us all. It was an honor to be a member under her leadership in the state Action Committee. She was a remarkable woman and her work will live on both in the League and in our hearts. My sincere condolences, she will be dearly missed.

Fondly,

Nancy Donovan, member of the LWVOR Action Committee, and Chair of the LWVPDX Education Committee

I knew Alice in a variety of contexts — the American Association of University Women of Oregon and the Oregon League of Women Voters. I am profoundly saddened that I won’t see and hear her leading the LWVOR State Public Policy team, receive her informative emails about the legislature or experience her keeping AAUW of OR members on track with her wise leadership as Parliamentarian. I don’t usually use the signature I typed in below, but I thought it might give you an idea about how Alice and I intersected.

There are many qualities I admired about Alice, but perhaps the most important to me was her generosity. When I took over from her, Kappy Eaton and Marcia Kelley as the AAUW of OR State Public Policy Chair some nine years ago, Alice was always helpful in getting me going, answering questions and so on. I frankly felt that she wasn’t given enough credit for the work she did before I came on, but I hope she heard my appreciation.

Although I didn’t see her organize things, I experienced the results of that organizing talent. It’s hard for me to believe all the “balls in the air” that she balanced. Alice was very perceptive and I so very much appreciated her willingness to be honest. It is a quality I cherish and one which is all too often in short supply.

I have some wonderful memories sitting at a luncheon table, trading a chuckle or two about this or that — sometimes about the state legislative world, sometimes about the AAUW and LWV worlds. I sought her company when she wasn’t sitting at the head table, although we shared that assignment as well.

My sincere condolences to you, her family. I will miss Alice.

Warm regards,

Trish Garner, J.D., M.S.W. Member, State Action Committee, League of Women Voters of Oregon Member, Board and Portland Justice Interest Group, League of Women Voters of Portland, Oregon Member, National Inclusion and Equity Committee, American Association of University Women State Public Policy Chair, 2014 - 2022 and Current State Diversity Chair, American Association of University Women of Oregon

I am so sorry to learn this. I worked with Alice on the state Higher Education study and was immediately impressed with her wealth of knowledge about the League and other matters, as well as her organizational skills and ways of dealing with people. She was one of the major influences on my becoming active in LWVPDX. We have all suffered a major loss.

Linda Mantel, LWVPDX Development Chair

Sorry to hear about this, she has been a dedicated and effective activist for so long. The world is a better place for her commitment and work.

Mike Hiland

What a devastating loss! Alice was an amazing woman and leader. I had the privilege of working with her on several league projects. Alice's attention to detail never flagged, so it's no surprise that she was a parliamentarian par excellence. I offer my sincere condolences to Alice's family and friends, and to her league family as well.

Alyce Prudden, Past President, League of Women Voters of Curry County