Ona Bartlett Patterson, age 92, died Sunday, March 27, 2022, at the Wellington Senior Living Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. She had been in declining health for some time, but her death was sudden yet peaceful. She was born February 19, 1930, in Tridell, Utah to Charles Owen Bartlett and Caroline Mabel Jones Bartlett.
Married Royce Dale Patterson 1950, Salt Lake City, Divorced 1980.
She was the fourth child born to Owen and Mabel Bartlett in Tridell, Utah. She spent her first nine summers living at 10,000 feet in elevation where her father owned a sawmill in the Uintah mountains, supplying much of the lumber for the area. Their first house, built by her father, had a dirt floor, and her first school years were spent in a 4-room schoolhouse. Financial hardship hit the family when the sawmill suddenly caught fire and was completely destroyed on June 4, 1940. Even in this adversity, the family was close-knit and worked together to survive the depression, while their father worked rebuilding a mill behind the house. As a junior in high school in 1947, she was chosen to attend the first “Girls State” ever held in Utah. In her senior year, she won the first prize given by BYU for best editorial published in a high school paper, as well as a scholarship from the University of Utah to study education. She graduated from Alterra High as the Salutatorian, Class of 1948.
She attended the University of Utah, leaving to marry in 1950. Four children were born in 1950, 1951, 1953, and 1955, and the family lived in Granger, then Holladay. When her youngest was old enough, she began working nights as a waitress and attending college classes during the day, graduating with a teaching certificate in 1962. She was an educator in Granite District for 37 years, variously 2-6th grades, at Academy Park, Woodstock, Meadow Moor, Twin Peaks, Lincoln, Western Hills, Lake Ridge, Carl Sandburg, and Rosecrest, as well as a Language Arts Curriculum Writer, and Title One Teacher Specialist.
Ever a writer herself, she was convinced children would produce surprising writing given opportunity and guidance. She was in charge of The Poetry in the Schools Project, a federally funded program helping elementary teachers to encourage creative writing in children. In 1978 she formed Apple Peelings to distribute her own innovative classroom materials for teachers, giving countless workshops all over Utah and in surrounding states, as well as presentations at national and international conferences and conventions. She was very active in Delta Kappa Gamma, an honorary teacher’s sorority, serving as an officer in several capacities.
Her publications include the collections of children’s poems When the Dipper Spills, My Thoughts are Seeds, and Fragile as Butterflies with the Poetry in the Schools Project and several articles published in the Utah English Journal, Instructor Magazine, The English Envoy, and NCTE’s Council Grams.
She received many awards, including teacher of the year from Carl Sandberg Elementary in 1983, and was a district finalist several times, including the Excel Outstanding Educator. She was published in the national Who’s Who Among American Educators in 1986 1987, 1988, and 1992, and in the international edition of 1990. She received the Alpha Theta State Achievement Award in 1983, the Woman of the Year Award from Della Kappa Gama in 1986, and the Utah State Legislative Award in 1992. After 37 years, many with perfect attendance, she retired from teaching in 1999.
Throughout her life she was an active member of the LDS Church, holding many positions of responsibility. She produced the newsletter for the Olympus 8th ward for many years and was in the Relief Society Presidency as well. Her faith was her bedrock and illuminated her life in times of both adversity and of joy. The death of Gwen (Bunny) at age 16 in 1968 was difficult, and she also buried sons Stan in 2007 and Val in 2012.
Her oldest son, Stan had presented her with twin grandsons in 1988, bringing her great pleasure and 3 great-grandchildren, all of whom she dearly treasured. In her later years, she spent a great deal of time in her garden and took up quilting as well. As a young mother, she had made most of her children’s clothes, and as a retiree, began producing beautiful quilts for her friends and relatives. She looked forward to the annual trip to the Houston International Quilt Festival with sisters Lela Coons, Elizabeth Bartlett, and Darlene Bartlett, meeting niece Jenny Chiovaro in Houston for several days each fall.
She is preceded in death by her children Stanley Owen Patterson, Gwen (Bunny) Patterson, and Val Bartlett Patterson; by her parents Charles Owen Bartlett and Mabel Caroline Bartlett, by her siblings Gwenna Bartlett, Elizabeth Bartlett Hall Gillard, Mark J Bartlett, and Lela Bartlett Coons.
She is survived by son Donald Lee Patterson, siblings Clyde R. Bartlett, Floyd H. Bartlett, and Charles Claymore Bartlett, and grandsons Jon Patterson, wife Joyce Wang, Sean Patterson, and wife Tram Patterson, and great-grandchildren Iris Patterson, (Jon & Joyce) Liam and Cedric Patterson (Sean and Tram). She has many loving nieces and nephews, including Jenny Jean Chiovaro.
Memorial services will be held on Monday, April 4, 2022, at 11:00 am at the Olympus Stake Building, 2675 East 4430 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84124. Viewings will be held at the Olympus Stake Building on Sunday from 6:00 – 8:00 PM and Monday from 10:00-10:45. Interment is at Memorial Holladay Park, 4900 Memory Lane, Holladay. To virtually attend the funeral services through zoom please follow below.
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Mrs. Patterson was my third grade teacher at Carl Sandburg Elementary. She inspired me to write poetry and stories. I didn’t realize the power of writing until I was much older, but this is where my love of writing began. Mrs. Patterson had a poetry club after school that I loved going to. I still remember writing pages and pages about Lucky the leprechaun. She was the teacher that went above and beyond for all her students. I will never forget her influence in my life. I am currently a teacher and have been teaching for 23 years. I hope I can be as inspirational for my students as she was for me. Thank you Mrs. Patterson.
I was one of the lucky young teachers who was chosen to attend the Poetry in the Schools training. I learned so much from Ona. She inspired me to become passionate about the importance of writing. With her guidance I learned how to teach my students to put their thoughts to words using poetry. I shared my knowledge with my colleagues, and that year we published a poetry book that included every 6th grade student's work from five classes. Throughout my teaching career I used what she taught me to help students (and other teachers) develop writing skills. She was an amazing and gifted lady. She made a difference in my life and vicariously influenced every student I taught for 40 years.
Mrs. Patterson was extremely instrumental in my career choice. I always enjoyed her writing lessons when I had her as a teacher in 4th grade at Carl Sandburg Elementary. I still have all of my writing booklets from her lessons! From Glomer the Leprechaun to Panda, my stuffed teddy bear, those books where inspirational! She will definitely be missed. She is one of the reasons why I love writing and chose it as a career.
My Dads sisters were all gems, and the finality of the last of the Owen and Mabel Bartlett women’s presence in the world is a significant season of grief. As I sit here and write at this hour, my parents are at Ona’s viewing during this sacred time of parting with the physical vessel that carried her soul, and the spirit of Bartlett women that had a deeply profound impact for good in the lives of her loved ones, next of kin, school students and faith congregation.
Aunt Ona was like-a-sister to my Mom Darlene when she moved to Roosevelt in 1950’s and met the Bartlett family as a teenager. Mabel, Ona, Elizabeth and Lela were all so good to my Mom Darlene during tender circumstances surrounding her time of adjustment to a new town & school. My Mom fell in love my Dad’s sisters long before she became my Dad’s girlfriend (and wife)!
When spending time together in person, Ona’s favorite way to communicate was through writing. She always made a point that she preferred to write than talk on the phone. Anyone who knew her, knew she was a gifted writer. Sometimes my Dad would forward some of the stories I wrote to his siblings via email, and it meant the world to me when Aunt Ona and Aunt Elizabeth sent a notes of compliment about my writing, being the author that Ona was. Though not one of her formally published books, my favorite book she wrote is Hours of Ours for her parents, siblings & extended family.
Thanks to Jenny Jean Chivaro (Elizabeth’s daughter) who organized Quilt Show vacations in Galveston, TX for the Bartlett sisters, my Mom got to nurture her relationship with Ona during their wonderful and wise Senior years. Traveling with Jenny & Bartlett sisters is a highlight of my Mom’s life. I know from reading some of Ona’s letters before and after, that it was a highlight of her life, too.
Quoting a letter from Ona after attending the International Quilt Fair in Houston in 2006:
“The whole thing [trip] was engineered by Jenny who was our chief chauffeur and tour guide. Lela also came, and needless to say, our conversations and visiting stretched far into each and every night. I returned just a couple of hours ago and have decided to write you instead of calling. I trust that you probably open up your email every so often. It was like visiting a massive art museum, but all the paintings were masterpieces of colorful fabric and thread instead of oil and canvas. We all had a wonderful time. I'm purely a novice quilter, but I'm really enjoying working with fabric now that I'm not correcting papers. I have much to learn but what fun I'm having! On Saturday, Jenny drove us to the Galveston Museum to see three of her beautiful quilts that were displayed there as part of a special exhibit.”
I admire Ona’s Motherhood in all the happiness and sadness of her journey. It should be against the laws of humanity and nature for children to pass away before their parents! Ona walked through the heartache in loss of three children gone too soon, and daughter Gwen “Bunny” was only a teenager when she passed away. I admire how Ona weathered those storms while remaining consistently gracious, unselfish and lovely all the days of her life. When my parents lost a son too soon in 2015, Aunt Ona was a comfort and strength to them. She wrote:
“My thoughts (and prayers) have been with you often throughout the past several days, and I've decided to send out a few lines tonight. It was about a week after Stan died that Bishop Buie approached me and asked if he might give me a blessing. (He knew Stan, as Stan had often attended church with me when he was in town.) Both he and his wife came to my home for this, and his blessing was a source of comfort that greatly sustained me throughout the trying days and months ahead. After Val passed, it was nearly two weeks afterwards that he again offered to give me another blessing. Perhaps you might wish to consider this. I offer this only as a suggestion. Jenny told me about the Vernal Cemetery lots and I know how very much this decision would please her mother. How very special for your Larry to be buried in the prettiest spot in the whole cemetery and also next to his Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Don! Yes, many eyes were wet with tears on Thursday, but I'm sure Elizabeth and Don were up there smiling!”
Thanks to Ona for the humility, wholesome example and blessings she contributed to our family, and thanks to all her loved ones for sharing her with us.
Mrs. Patterson taught my son in 3rd grade(Carl Sandburg Elem.). He always said his love of poetry came from her. Over the years, we exchanged a few letters. I much admired her. She was a great teacher and friend. Debbie Pienezza
I loved being in her 3rd grade class. I still have many of the poems, art projects, etc that we did in her class. She was a wonderful teacher.
Mrs Paterson was one of my all time favorite teachers. I had her for reading and writing in 2nd and 3rd grade and all of my other 4 siblings had her as a teacher as well! I loved her so much I named my Teddy bear Ona after her. I still have the poetry books she had printed and bound for us. I still have my poem about dandelions that she had laminated and I never see a dandelion without thinking of her. Too bad there aren’t more teachers like her.
I met Ona when she'd visit her sister, Elizabeth, when I was an activities assistant where Elizabeth lived. I got to know her and Jenny well and enjoyed when she'd visit. Oddly enough, I went to a neighboring elementary school near where Ona taught. (Whittier Elementary). I'm an sorry for your loss. She was a great lady.