Otomar Bartos

Dr. Otomar Jan Bartos died at his home in Boulder on Monday, December 16th, 2013. He was 86. "Oto" was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1927 to General Joseph Jan Bartos and Terezie Loffelmann. He grew up in the former Czechoslovakia, played soccer, guitar, acted in movies. He attended Law School at Prague University until drawing attention as an anti-communist demonstrator in post-WW2 Eastern Europe. To avoid persecution and imprisonment he escaped across the "Iron Curtain" to Schloss Leopold in Austria in 1950 (site of the original "Sound of Music" film). There he met his sponsor and mentor, sociologist Howard Higman (creator of the World Affairs Conference) from the University of Colorado. After two years working as a forest ranger in Canada and attending the University of Toronto, he immigrated to the United States. He became a naturalized American citizen in the late 1950s. His older brother Ivan escaped from a communist prison and also immigrated to the United States, subsequently joining the US Army. Oto received his B.A. and M.A. in Sociology at the University of Colorado, and his Ph.D. in Sociology at Yale University. He taught at the University Of Hawaii, Whittier College, Northwestern University, University of Pittsburgh and Dartmouth College before settling down as a tenured professor at the University of Colorado in Boulder from 1971-1997. Oto had five children with artist Joan McLaughlin, his wife of 20 years whom he met in Hawaii. After their divorce, he married psychologist Carolyn "Linny" McLean Bartos in 1981, and was blissfully married for over 30 years until Linny preceded him in death earlier this year. Oto was an avid surfer, skier, horseback rider, fisherman, tennis player, traveler and a prolific author and napper. He was a leader in the field of negotiation theory, integrating computer modeling and simulations in the 1960s. He also published sixteen sociology theory books and textbooks. Oto and his Bohemian humor will be deeply missed by his family, friends, and former colleagues. Oto is survived by his children Joe Bartos (Christine Leitner), Peter Bartos (Brandie), David Bartos, Mary Bartos, Jim Bartos (Alma), eight grandchildren, and his step-children Scott McLean (Ginny Doers) and Joan McLean Braun (David). A funeral service will be held at 1:00pm on Friday, January 3rd, at the Darrell Howe Mortuary Chapel, 1701 W South Boulder Road, Lafayette, with interment to follow in Green Mountain Cemetery. Contributions can be made in the memory of his wife, Linny for Alzheimer's research, at http://www.alz.org/join_the_cause_donate.asp