Virgil Paul Bartell

life story

A gentle, steadfast man of faith

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God . And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the LORD's people.

Ephesians 6:13-18

About Virg

Virgil passed away May 12, 2021 after a valiant but difficult battle with ALS. He held on strongly to his faith until he went home to the Lord. He was born August 15, 1938 in Herman, MN and raised on a small farm, a middle child amongst six. There he learned his honest, down to earth values that he carried throughout his life.

Most of his working career was spent in the airline industry - North Central, Republic, Northwest and Delta - where he enjoyed working with people and travelling. He was a simple man who loved learning new things, hunting, nature, being outdoors, hiking and birds. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area held a special place in his heart. He enjoyed people and was blessed to be able to spend time with his kids and grandkids, who lived out of state, on various vacations. He was also grateful to have enjoyed two trips to his BWCA with grandchildren when he was in his 70s. He will be remembered as a gentleman, always willing to help, steadfast and soft spoken. He will be dearly missed by those who knew and loved him.

He is survived by his wife, Suzie, to whom he was her rock, her center, her love and her best friend. Daughter Teri (Tim) Houts and son Tom Bartell from his first marriage. He had nine grandchildren - Teri's five, Tolly (Abby), Mikayla (Matthew), Sydney, Gavin, Logan and Tom's four, Ashleigh (Mark), Josh, Jared (Bailey), Alec; and five great-grandchildren. He is also survived by two brothers Lavern (Cheryl) and Roy (Deb) and a sister Ruthie (Alan) and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his parents Fred and Elnora, a brother David and a sister Beverly.