Vivian Jean (Bloom) Bartlett, 88, of Williston ND went to her Heavenly home December 14, 2022. She had been a patient at CHI St. Alexius Hospital in Williston, ND when she passed.

Vivian, aka Jean, was born the first child of John and Susan Bloom on May 7, 1934 at the Keller Hospital in Williston.

Jean was baptized and confirmed in the First Lutheran Church. She attended Williston School. As a young girl she was active in Brownies and Girl Scouts. Her girl scout uniform is on display at the Frontier Museum in Williston.
Jean was united in marriage to Robert Bartlett on November 19, 1950. They were blessed with 3 daughters, Helen (Cutler), Carol (Shwartz) and Janet Bartlett.

Jean and her husband Bob moved into their new home on 4th Street in Williston where they resided for many years. Jean babysat children in their home and rented out the basement bedrooms to construction workers. Jean was very busy during those years, raising her own little girls and cooking for their renters, as well as doing their laundry each week. While living on 4th Street, the family made many wonderful lifelong friends.

After 14 years on 4th Street, the family moved to the Bartlett family farm west of Williston in Judson County. She always planted huge vegetable gardens and raised chickens to help feed her family. It was during this time she became friends with her neighbor Olive Beard. They spent many hours planting, weeding, cultivating, canning and of course solving the world’s problems. It was also during the years on the farm that Bob & Jean opened their home to many foster children. Jean often wondered if helping these children was what God called her to do.

Jean was very active in her community and the First Methodist Church. She was a member ot the Bethany Circle for 30 years, serving in all areas of this wonderful group of ladies.

She belonged to the Rebekahs Lodge for over 30 years, also being elected as Noble Grand 5 different times as well as serving as secretary for many years. She was also a member of the 9th Ave. Birthday Club and the Wednesday afternoon coffee club that met every week at Dakota Farms Restaurant.

Jean also served on the Supervisory Board for the Williston Cooperative Credit Union for 11 years. She always said everyone should volunteer for something in their community and she certainly did that in her life.

One of her favorite projects was to volunteer at the Frontier Museum. One year they put on a fashion show and Jean modeled her Mother’s wedding dress. She loved going to auctions and spent many Saturdays listening to the auctioneer. She always found something to add to her collections and was so excited with these special finds.

At the age of 6, she began collecting bottles of any shape, size and color, ending up with over 1000 bottles. She loved any and all kinds of pretty dishes. She also collected angels and trains.

In 1981 Jean’s husband, Bob passed away so she sold the farm and moved to a cute house on 9th Ave. She loved to garden and always had beautiful flowers in her yard with never a blade of grass out of place. In fact, one year her yard was featured in the “Tour of Gardens’. She was very proud of her pretty flowers.

Jean participated in the “Table of Contents” for 14 years. She always had such a pretty table set for this event and looked forward to being a part of it. It was the perfect opportunity to showcase her amazing collections of dishes.

She loved her family and friends. She sent out hundreds of cards every year to them. She loved baking and taking treats to her friends or having them over for one of her famous coffee parties. She will certainly be missed by all who knew and loved her.

Jean is survived by her family, daughter, Helen (Craig) Cutler of Okatie, South Carolina, daughter, Janet Bartlett of Williston, ND; grandchildren, Cale Cutler, Calynn Altizer, Nellie Horton, Deborah Russell, Rachael Bowcut, Jamie Bartlett; great-grandchildren; great-great grandchildren; sister, Marian Oelhafen of Marshfield, WI; brothers, Marlan (Karen) Bloom of Holden, Maine, Vernon (Jan) Bloom of Gold Canyon, AZ, and families; special friends, Ron and Mary Johnson, Beth Wheeler, Ronda Peterson and family, Colinda McGillis, Judy and Dennis Dullum, Naomi Garman and Elva Smith, all of Williston, ND.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Robert Bartlett; parents, John and Susan Bloom; in-laws, Cale and Nell Bartlett; daughter, Carol Schwartz; grandson, David Cutler; brother-in-law, Jim Oelhafen.