Charles Joseph "Joe" Bartko

December 22, 1937 ‐ March 24, 2023

Birthplace: Charleroi, Pennsylvania Resided In: Westlake, Ohio

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Charles Joseph “Joe” Bartko, age 85, beloved husband of Dorothy (nee Leek) for 54 years. Loving father of Lynda Arth (David), Cheryl Biasella (Paul), and Rob Bartko. Dear grandfather of William Joseph Biasella and Nathaniel Biasella. 

Joe was raised by two wonderful parents on a small family farm in Perryopolis, PA, with ten brothers and sisters – Mary, William, Barbara, Martha, Rozella, Joan, Thomas, Bernadine, James and Beatrice. From a young age he watched as his father built or repaired many things large and small and, in turn, he became extremely handy as well. He could do anything from rewire a house to construct a backyard shed with only hand-drawn plans. He really enjoyed his years on the farm, but when it came time to leave and see the world, he chose the Air Force as his next adventure. During his four years of duty, including being stationed in Turkey, he learned the technical skills that helped shape his career as a computer field technician in both the banking and mailing industries.

Not long after he was honorably discharged in 1964 from the Air Force, he met the love of his life, Dorothy, and they married in June 1968. Three children – Lynda, Cheryl and Robert – followed, along with a lifetime of cherished memories. Those memories span everything from attending school music concerts and making sure he got everything on videotape; to taking the family on numerous camping trips with a small pop-up camper; to walking two beautiful daughters down the aisle.  

In 2003, after Joe’s retirement, he was able to put more focus on his hobbies. His main hobby was woodworking and he was exceptionally good at it. Along with making smaller items, such as wooden clocks for his two grandchildren, his proudest accomplishment came with remodeling the kitchen and building all of the cabinetry from scratch.  

In addition to carpentry, Joe also enjoyed gardening, whether it was making sure that there were flowers surrounding the house every spring or that a tidy tomato garden was planted in the backyard. He took extreme pride in the way that his home looked and enjoyed talking to neighbors and friends about his latest project.

Family was very important to Joe and he surrounded himself with them as much as possible. Whether it was a family Christmas Eve party attended by many or just spending some quality time with his two grandsons, Nate and Will, he cherished it all. He also enjoyed getting to know his two sons-in-law, David and Paul, over the years and helping them with various projects in their homes.  

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