Ralph R. Bartsch

Ralph was born on a farm near Ordway, Colorado, on February 12, 1917. He was the youngest of seven. His three sisters and three brothers are deceased, one brother as an infant, and one sister living to be 102. Ralph attended local public schools, with perfect attendance from first grade until his graduation from high school in 1934. He was then offered two full-cost scholarships – one for any Colorado state college or university (similar to the current Boettcher scholarship) and another for the University of Denver. He chose the latter. While at DU, he was elected President of the School of Commerce and then President of the Interschool Council (equivalent of student body president) during his senior year. He was a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, Alpha Kappa Psi, and Omicron Delta Kappa honor societies. He graduated with a B. S. in Commerce in 1938.

After graduation, he worked for the Internal Revenue Service and the War Department. While assigned to Camp Shelby, Mississippi, he met Martha Conner, and they were married on June 19, 1941. He entered the U. S. Army in August of 1942, was commissioned as an officer in 1943, and taught finance and auditing until his discharge as a Captain in April of 1946. He settled in Denver, and passed the examination to become a Certified Public Accountant on his first attempt. He then joined the accounting firm of Davies, Zarini, and Company, and was promoted to partner in 1949. In April of 1954, he helped form the firm known as Zarini, Bartsch, and Martin. That firm merged with Arthur Young and Company (which later became Ernst and Young) in April of 1960. He retired from public accounting in 1973 but continued to work part-time as an accounting consultant to several Denver law firms. During his career, he was a member of the Colorado Society of Certified Public Accountants (President 1955-1956) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Ralph was a member of Lakewood Country Club for about sixty years, and enjoyed golf, whether as a player or as a spectator. He scored two holes-in-one, both on the eleventh hole at LCC, 13 years apart. He and Martha were long-time active members at Wheat Ridge United Methodist Church, and had a number of close friends they met while members there. They had been married for nearly 66 years at the time of her death in March of 2007. Despite numerous vision problems and multiple eye surgeries, she and Ralph enjoyed traveling with Ports of Call.

During their marriage, they had two children, Jim and Judy. Judy married David Diehl and Jim married Kathy Kiplinger in 1973. Each couple in turn had two sons. Jim and Kathy's older son, Jason, is now the father of two boys. Ralph delighted in spending time with and watching his four grandsons grow to adulthood and enjoyed pictures of and visits from his two great-grandsons.

Ralph died in his sleep early the morning of July 21, 2016. A private graveside service for the family is scheduled for July 27, 2016.

A Celebration of Ralph's Life will be held on Friday, September 9, 2016, 11am, at Wheat Ridge United Methodist Church, 7530 W. 38th Ave., Wheat Ridge, CO 80033. Please stay and have some fellowship and a luncheon with us after the service at church.

Arrangements under the direction of Olinger Crown Hill Mortuary, Cemetery & Arboretum, Wheat Ridge, CO.