Kleber Bartram

Kleber Maxon Bartram, age 92, passed away at home of his son, David Bartram, on  Thursday, the 4th of November, 2021, in Beloit, Wisconsin.
Born June 28, 1929, in Hancock, WI.  Eldest son of George William Bartram and Esther Mae (Monroe) Bartram of Beloit, WI.  He was preceded in death by his wife, Sandra Lee (Luepke) Bartram and daughter, Paula Mae Bartram. He wed Maxima (aka Amy) (Apostol) Nordmoe on December 1952 who survives him.  Kleber is survived by his many offspring.  They had four children.  Mariam (aka Mary) Bartram, Wanda  & (Roger) Gieseke, David & (Linda) Bartram, and Anna & (Larry) Schmidt. Grandchildren include Jennifer (Hill) Leaf, Lisa (Hill) & (David) Wall, Michael Kyriakopoulos, Gia (Kyriakopoulos) & (Omar) De Mara, Michelle (Gieseke) & Greg Cromer, April (Gieseke) Hayes, Donovan & (Amber) Bartram, Sean Bartram, Amber Bartram, Aimee (Herren) & Jay Lamothe, Austin Herren, and AJ & (Heather) Herren.  Great-grandchildren include Kleber and Nathan Leaf, Mable, Daniel, and Noah Clark, and Charles Spicer, Christian and Forest Hanchey, Antonio III, Elizabeth, Alexis Venegas, Vanessa (Venegas) & Ray Romero, and Omar De Mara III.  Harper Hayes, Kennedy and Declan Cromer, Brooklyn Bartram and Averi Graham Herren, and a great- great granddaughter Raya Romero. Sisters Lois Engen and Lieta Reyburn, brother Byron & (Nancy) Bartram, sister in laws Carol, Esther, and Rita Bartram, many nieces, nephews, and cousins from Bartram, Monroe, Patefield, and Paine families survive.  His sister, Ramona Bartram, and his brothers, Kenneth Bartram, Ronald Bartram, and Philip Bartram predeceased him.
Kleber wed Sandra Lee Luepke on January 20, 1961, in Harvard, IL.  They have a surviving son, Peter Jay Bartram, grandson, Joshua & (Kristie) Bartram, and granddaughter, Tawni Lee Bartram with three of Kleber’s great-grandchildren, Riley, Hartley, and Avid.  Kleber grew up and attended Beloit High School, Beloit College in mechanical engineering.  He was a Korean War Veteran and served in USAF where he was stationed at Clarks AFB, Manila, Philippines  He worked as an airplane mechanic leaving with an honorable discharge A/IC. He worked in several die casting companies as plant engineer, general manager, general foreman, maintenance supervisor at Woodstock Die Casting, Flexicore, Teledyne Abco Die Casting in IL, El Monte Tool & Die Casting, Die Cast Mfg in CA.  He retired as an Arizona Department of Corrections Correctional Officer II, having received two awards from the Arizona State Governor for his services.   He lived in Oxnard, CA, Beloit, WI when he returned from the war.  He lived in Harvard, IL, Westchester, IL, Buena Park, CA, Yucaipa, CA, Buckeye, AZ, Beloit, WI, Kansas, OK, and most recently resided at his home in Hustonville, KY, before returning to Beloit, WI.
He was a church member his entire life, and a member as a veteran USAF, Elks, Moose, VFW, Mason, UAW, and the USAF Band. He believed in the truth and principle of righteousness and justice.  He often gave the shirt off his back to help others in need, and stopped to help people stranded with their cars on the road to get them back on the right track from the goodness of his heart.  He loved to stop to visit people to tell a story or joke to everyone he would meet and share a laugh. He had strong political opinions about justice and righteousness which led to his last career as a Correctional Officer II in law enforcement. He loved country western music, played music on cornet, trumpet, saxophone, piano and organ. Loved travelling on his Indian, Harley, Honda, and Triumph motorcycles, playing Mexican train dominos, euchre, pinochle, solitaire, restoring cars, fixing things, remodeling his homes, and reading his scriptures. May he find his final perfect peaceful rest at last in the garden of heaven. There will be a celebration of life service held at 2 pm on November 20, 2021, at the VFW, 2711 S Afton Rd., Beloit, WI 53511 with luncheon to follow.  In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be sent to the Bartram Family, 712 Windsor Rd, Loves Park, IL  61111.  Final veteran interment services will be at Camp Nelson National Cemetery, Nicholasville, KY with Bro. Greg Powell officiating.