Emil Bartel

On October 6, 2016, Emil Luverne Bartel was ushered into heaven to be with his Lord and Savior. He was also united once again with his wife, Betty; daughter, Arline; his parents, Henry and Sarah Bartel; sisters, Agnes and Evelyn; brothers, Alvin and Paul; niece, Jennifer; and nephew, Bill.

Emil was born on September 3, 1924, in Moscow Township, North Dakota. He attended the Moscow Public School for 8 years and then in the fall of 1938, he attended high school in Alsen, North Dakota, graduating in the spring of 1942. He received a farm deferment from the service during WWII to help his father run the family farm.

In the fall of 1948, he attended Grace Bible Institute and graduated in the spring of 1951. While he studied at Grace, he met Betty Jones and they were married on August 18, 1950. For the next 62 years, Emil and Betty raised 7 children and went through their share of ups and downs.

After graduating from Grace, Emil and Betty moved to Hillsboro, ND, where he worked until moving his family to Backus, MN, in September of 1969. He worked at a number of different jobs, ending with painting, until the end of 2009 when his Parkinson's Disease progressed, forcing him to retire.

Emil's faith and study of the Bible gave him a firm foundation not only to live by, but to share with his children, family and friends. Learning to accept God's grace was also huge to his life. He made mistakes as a husband, father and friend, but knew God's grace would meet him right where he was at and that God's love would never fail him. On October 6, 2016, God's tender mercies led him to his "forever" home in heaven.

Emil is survived by his sister, Adaline of Madelia, MN; daughters: Linda of Pine River, Leona of Rochester, Melody (Kyle) Biggar of Robbinsdale, Donna of Grand Rapids; sons: Bob (Tanis) of Baxter, Bill (Diane) of New London, WI; 11 grandchildren; 2 great grandsons; many nieces and nephews as well as several in-laws.

Services for Emil will be held on Saturday, October 29, at Riverview Church in Pine River. Visitation will be at 10 AM followed by the service at 11 AM.

Any memorial gifts designated to E.L. Bartel or the Bartel family in lieu of flowers will be given to the ministry of a heartfelt passion of Emil's.

Our family sends out many thank you's to everyone for their kind thoughts and prayers.