John Lewis Bartholomew – Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy

From a contemporary press report:

John Lewis “Jack” Bartholomew, a resident of Annapolis for the past eight years, died April 25 at the Veterans Hospital in Perry Point, Maryland, after a long illness. He was 72.

Born April 12, 1928, in Northampton, Pennsylvania, Commander Bartholomew was the son of the late Ralph and Miriam Kleppinger Bartholomew. He was a 1951 graduate of the Naval Academy and played on the Navy football team. He studied aeronautical engineering at the Naval Postgraduate School and later received his master’s degree in adult education at the University of Oklahoma.

He served in the Navy for 20 years and was awarded his aviator wings in 1953. Among his many assignments was a tour in the night flight squadron and several missile center assignments. He was awarded the Joint Service Commendation Medal while on joint duty at the North American Air Defense Command. At the time of his retirement in 1970, he held the rank of Lieutenant Commander.

Following his military career, he began a second career with the United States Postal Service, serving as senior instructor at the USPS Technical Training Center in Norman, Oklahoma, and later, as general manager of supply operations at the Eastern Area Supply Center in Somerville, New Jersey, retiring in 1990.

An avid Navy football fan, other interests included golf, music, history, square dancing and photography. A Mason and member of the Scottish Rite Temple, he was a member of the Bayside Masonic Lodge in Virginia Beach, Virginia, the India Temple of Oklahoma City and the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry of Guthrie, Oklahoma. Other memberships included the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, the Retired Officers Association, and the Naval Academy Alumni Association.

Surviving are his wife, Janice Wahl Bartholomew, whom he married in 1951; two sons, John Bartholomew Jr. of Silver Spring and James Bartholomew of New York City; a daughter, Joy Bartholomew of Dallas; a sister, Harriet Riner of Lancaster, Pa.; and one granddaughter.

Funeral services will be held Wednesday at 3 p.m. at the George P. Kalas Funeral Home, 2973 Solomons Island Road in Edgewater. Interment will be Thursday at 10 a.m. at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 1850 York Road, Suite D, Timonium, MD 21093-5142.

Michael Robert Patterson

Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.

Reviewed by: Michael Howard