Marie A. Bartlett

Marie A. (Viger) Bartlett, 87, of Upton, died in her home on Sunday morning, August 10, after an illness. She was the wife of Roger I. Bartlett and had the distinction of being the first female elected town official in Upton.

Mrs. Bartlett was born in Bonsecour, Quebec, the daughter of the late Nazaire and Rose (Berthelette) Viger. She came to the U.S. at the age of 14 months, living first in Newport, NH, and then in Worcester before coming to Upton in 1925. She was a 1939 graduate of Upton High School and attended the Worcester School of Business Science. She was a communicant of Holy Angels Parish, where she was president of the Altar Sodality for nine years, taught Sunday school for many years, and took part in the Bishop's Fund Drive.

She worked as a secretary at Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School for 15 years, starting two weeks before the school's opening in 1966, and then worked at Data General for seven years until retiring in 1988. She was elected to the Upton Board of Assessors for three terms and served as chairman of the board for two terms. She was well liked by elders and teenagers, as she opened her home and time to them on many occasions.

In addition to her husband of 62 years, she leaves two sons, Robert P. Bartlett and his wife Kathleen of Bellingham and David R. Bartlett and his wife Mary of Upton; five grandchildren, Tracy, Amy, and Timothy Bartlett of Bellingham, and twins Tyler and Matthew Bartlett of Upton; her dog Ruby; and a longtime close family friend, Jeannie Hale of Upton.

Funeral services will be held Thursday from the Williams-Pedersen Funeral Home, 45 Main Street, with a funeral Mass at 10 a.m. in Holy Angels Church, Milford Street, Upton. Burial will follow in Lakeview Cemetery.

Calling hours at the funeral home are Wednesday from 5 to 8 pm.

www.uptonfunerals.com