Richard J. Bartlett

Bartlett, Richard J. GLENS FALLS Richard J. Bartlett, 89, passed away at home on May 6, 2015, following a brief illness. Richard J. Bartlett was born in Glens Falls on February 15, 1926, and was a lifelong resident of the North Country, spending his summers at his home at Mile Island in Bolton Landing. Through various aspects of the law, he spent his life serving the people of Glens Falls, Warren County and New York State. He also had a great love of the outdoors, was an avid sailor at the Lake George Club and spent many hours hunting and fishing throughout the Adirondacks. Dad was an incredible man a man who did it all. In the Glens Falls community, he was particularly proud to have been president of the United Cerebral Palsy Association, a charter member of the Glens Falls branch of the NAACP, a trustee of Glens Falls National Bank, a member of the board of trustees at the Hyde Collection and a director and supporter of the Glens Falls Symphony. He co-founded the law firm of Clark, Bartlett & Caffry in 1962, which is now known as Bartlett, Pontiff Stewart and Rhodes, PC (BPSR). His many accomplishments included being a member of the New York State Assembly from 1959 through 1966, representing Warren County. In 1961, Gov. Nelson Rockefeller appointed him as chair of the New York State Temporary Commission on Revision of the Penal Law. He then served as justice of the Supreme Court from 1973 to 1979, at which time he was appointed as the first chief administrative judge of the Unified Court System for the State of New York (1974-79). He unfortunately was unable to hold a job, so he then went to Albany Law School and served as dean and professor of law from 1979-86, after which he returned to his beloved Glens Falls, where he rejoined his law firm, BPSR. In 1986, he joined both the New York State Board of Law Examiners and the National Conference of Bar Examiners. His awards are too numerous to list in full, but some highlights include his receipt of the Gold Medal, the New York State Bar Association's highest award, in 2004 and his Lifetime Achievement Awards from both the New York State Bar Association in 2011 and the New York Law Journal in 2013. He received the Henry Crandall Award from Glens Falls Library in 2010 and in 2006; both he and Claire were recipients of the Good Scout Award from the Wakpominee District of The Twin Rivers Council, the Boy Scouts of America. He was also recognized by Warren County Bar Association in 2002 as the first recipient of the Charles Evans Hughes award. He was predeceased by his wife, Claire Kennedy Bartlett, on April 9, 2010, as well as his mother and father, George and Kathryn Bartlett, and his sister, Mary Jane. He is survived by his two children, Michael (Ann) from Saranac Lake and Amy (Robert) from Glens Falls, and two grandsons, Patrick, of South Glens Falls and Timothy (Rebecca), also of South Glens Falls. He is also survived by his sister, Nancy Bartlett Horne, of Bradenton, Fla., as well as numerous nieces and nephews. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held 9:30 a.m., on Saturday, May 23, 2015, at St. Mary's Church, 62 Warren St., Glens Falls. Burial will be private for the family in St. Mary's Cemetery, South Glens Falls. Family and friends may call from 4-7 p.m. on Friday, May 22, 2015, at the Singleton Sullivan Potter Funeral Home, 407 Bay Road, Queensbury. In lieu of flowers, please send donations in Dad's name to The Richard J. Bartlett Fund at the New York Bar Foundation, One Elk St., Albany, NY 12207 or High Peaks Hospice & Palliative Care, P.O. Box 840, Saranac Lake, NY 12983-0840. Those who wish may make online condolences by visiting our website at sbfuneralhome.com.