Obituary of Robert Simms Bartnett

On the day Robert S. Bartnett was born, April 23, 1959, the azalea bush in the front yard at home bloomed. 

He was born in Newark, NJ and grew up on All Breeze Farm in Bethlehem Township, where he learned how to fix (almost) anything with a motor and how to love the stubborn soil. Bob was the youngest of three: he had an older sister, Jane, and an older brother, Patrick. The three children were raised by two parents who were deeply in love with one another and their children. Both of his parents were invested in the written word—his mother was an excellent editor and teacher, and his father was a journalist. His father’s love for sports and the outdoors was perhaps one of the greatest impacts on Bob’s life. They fished from the shores of Limerick, Ireland for salmon and trout and trolled the lakes of Westport, Ontario for walleye. When Bob entered North Hunterdon High School and began to play football, his father, who was diagnosed with polio at a young age and could not walk down to the field, would park his VW bus at the top of the hill to watch his son play. Sadly, when Bob was only 15 years old, his father passed away. Bob never stopped missing his father. 

But remember, Bob turns bare branches into blooms. 

The first branch bloomed a couple years later in 1975, when he was a junior in high school and the kicker for the varsity football team. The team was 7-0 when the quarterback broke his collarbone. Bob, the backup quarterback, led the team through the final three games for a 10-0 season, a state championship, and a North Hunterdon record that would land the team in the NHHS Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003. The world was catching on to Bob’s superhuman ability to believe in the impossible. A local headline reported: “Bob Bartnett: Not Ready to Leap Tall Buildings–Yet.”

He then attended Lafayette College. Intent on returning to the family farm, Bob pursued his own intellectual curiosities at Lafayette. He studied Government & Law and developed an aptitude for American political history, a passion he shared with his mother, a WWII veteran who was also a devoted political volunteer in her community. After graduating in 1981, Bob balanced his time between commercial real estate and the farm, where they started a pumpkin patch in the fall and a sweet corn stand in the summer. He also became the volunteer offensive coordinator for the North Warren High School football team. 

This is where another branch bloomed, where Bob Bartnett took out his cape and learned to leap. After losing his father at such a young age, Bob became a father-figure to generations of young athletes. At North Warren, the team named him “Coach Sweetness” (which might have had something to do with the bottomless pizza he bought for the entire team each week). When his first two children were born—Erin first, then Patrick—he brought them along to every practice. Erin and Patrick watched from the sidelines as their father showed them from the very beginning what it means to be part of a team, to practice what you care about and to believe in one another.

As his children grew older and began to play sports of their own, Bob transformed into a lacrosse coach for the Bethlehem Warriors, a basketball coach at Immaculate Conception, and a football coach for the North Hunterdon Junior Lions. Along the way, he showed every team how to play “all four quarters,” how to follow through, how to say “good game” after defeat, and how to celebrate a hard-earned victory. The North Hunterdon Junior Lions became his home. For more than 20 years, he mentored hundreds of young athletes. During this time, Bob also gained a son, Andreas, who watched Bob model what it means to be a loyal, loving, and generous member of your community. 

Bob also remained dedicated to the family farm. In 2011, Bob and his family successfully preserved All Breeze Farm for future generations. 

So you see it was more than just blooms—Bob Bartnett also knew how to grow family roots. He adored his wife, Vici, and his children, Erin, Patrick, and Andreas. He lived for any moment with Vici, weekends with the whole family at home, a Sunday racing down the slopes of Elk Mountain, an hour on the back porch watching the sun set on the horse pasture. He was generous with his love and his joy. 

Finally, Bob was a storyteller, which makes this story impossible to tell without him here. How to capture his big hands held wide so you know this is a huge deal, his blue eyes lit up just before the punch line, the ripple and boom of his infectious laughter? 

Bob Bartnett passed away at home on the evening of February 12, 2024. He is survived by his wife, Vici, his children, Erin (Ryan), Patrick, and Andreas, and too many athletes to count. 

The branches are so empty now. But Bob has taught so many of us how to look up, how to believe in the impossible, and how to make it grow. 

Family, friends, and athletes are invited to celebrate Bob’s legacy with a Mass of Christian Burial on Saturday, February 24^th, at 11:00 AM at The Church of St. Ann, located at 6 Church Street, Hampton NJ. Guests will be received at the church starting at 10:00 AM followed by mass. All services are being held directly at church under the care of Martin Funeral Home, Clinton NJ. To share memories with the family please visit www.martinfh.com.

In lieu of flowers and because it is lent, the family will be setting up a scholarship fund in Bob’s name. The scholarship website will be live around February 24th, please check back.