Burdette "Burt" Barth

Barth,

Burt Barth, 96, died peacefully under hospice care on September 7, 2016, in his beloved Solon, Ohio. Born October 1, 1919, in Akron, Ohio, to James E. and Margaret Whitworth Barth, Burt’s family moved to Copley when he was nine. Peddling his Beacon Journal paper route, he earned the nickname “Speedy.” Later, he was honored as Poet Laureate of Copley High School’s class of 1937. While a senior at Baldwin-Wallace College, Burt fell in love with freshman Rose Schuckert, who was also from Copley. A year after graduating with a degree in history, Burt was drafted into the Army in 1942. Posted to Fisher’s Island in Long Island Sound, he served as an officer in the Chemical Corps. While stationed there, Burt and Rose were married in New London, Connecticut, on August 27, 1943. Although his active duty ended in 1945, Burt served in the Army Reserves and retired a full Colonel thirty years later. In 1947, Burt and Rose moved to Frankfurt, West Germany, where he worked as a civilian employee for the Army in the reconstruction of postwar Germany. While there, Burt and Rose added a daughter, Linda, and then a son, Craig, to their family. The foursome returned to northeastern Ohio in 1953. Burt began a forty-year career in insurance in 1960, the year he and the family moved to Solon, Ohio. At the same time, he and Rose, who taught high-school English, began their “other career” as volunteers for World Neighbors. This calling became their life’s work together, lasting 50 years; it took them abroad to World Neighbors sites where they rolled up their sleeves and pitched in on community development projects. It also took them to the pulpits of most United Methodist Churches in the Northeast Ohio Conference in their fundraising appeals. Burt was blessed with extraordinary personal traits. Highly personable, he was always eager to engage in conversation and to share experiences. The twinkle in his eye and his friendly manner never failed to impart his unshakeable optimism to all around him. He loved history and had a gift with language. Burt not only wrote poetry, but as a young man committed literally hundreds of poems to memory. Throughout his life, he was fond of reciting his favorites in their entirety to friends and family. Burt’s gentle spirit and poetic sensibility were balanced by a highly practical, down-to-earth side. A devout Christian who lived his faith, he was a man of deep compassion, committed to social justice. At his core: rock-solid integrity with a limitless capacity to love. He was a warm and fully involved parent and grandparent, especially fond of visiting his grandchildren and finding rich and playful ways of participating in their lives. He was a shining beacon to us all! He will be sorely missed, but assuredly lives on in our hearts and in a world made better by his dedication and hard work. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance.” (Galatians 5:22-23) Burt is survived by his daughter Linda Craft and her husband Richard Craft of Palatine, Illinois; by his son Craig Barth and his partner Victoria Bell of Santa Fe, New Mexico; and by his grandchildren Teresa Craft, Marc Craft and his wife Maribeth, Caitlin Barth and her partner Cory Cofran, and Nicholas Barth. Burt is predeceased by his wife, Rose Barth (2012), and by his brother James Barth, Jr., and his sister Virginia Merrick. Visitation at 10am will precede an 11am Memorial Service on Saturday, September 17, at Chagrin Falls United Methodist Church, 20 S. Franklin Street, Chagrin Falls, Ohio. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that any memorial donations be sent to World Neighbors, 5600 N. May Avenue, Suite 160, Oklahoma City, OK 73112. Arrangements by Stroud-Lawrence Funeral Home Chagrin Falls, OH. www.stroudlawrence.com

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