Barthelemy A. "Bart" Arotca

BARTHELEMY A. AROTCA ''BART'' SEPT 1920 ~ SEPT 2010 Bart was born in Bayonne, France of French and Spanish Basque parentage. He came to the United States with his parents and settled in San Francisco. As a young boy he began singing on NBC radio and eventually began his training in classical voice. He was on the threshold of a promising career when World War II intervened. After service in the North African and European theaters, he returned to San Francisco and a continuation of his musical studies. Bart was the winner of the Gainsborough Music Foundation Auditions in 1946 and a semi-finalist of the Atwa ter Kent Auditions in 1947. He continued to sing professionally with orchestras and symphonies throughout the bay area. After retiring from singing, Bart met Nancy Johnson of Dayton, Tennessee. They married in 1958 and moved to Modesto. Bart worked for Hershey's Food Corporation for 19 years. Upon his retirement from Hershey's he spent years in the volunteer service; first at Interfaith Ministries in Modesto and then at Memorial Hospital. Bart is preceded in death by his beloved wife Nancy. He is survived by his son Barth (Wendy) and daughter Ginny Young of Modesto; and three grandsons Andrew Arotca of Santa Clara, Brian Arotca of LaHoya and Brandon Young of Stanislaus County. Memorial service will be held at Trinity United Presbyterian Church in Modesto on Sat., October 2, 2010 at 1:30 p.m. Please share your memories at: www.modbee.com/obituaries www.allenmortuary.com.