Gerald Bartels, 65, a 39-year employee of the Chicago Tribune who worked in the newspaper’s composing room at Freedom Center on Chicago Avenue, died in his sleep Monday, Oct. 23, in his Arlington Heights home. He had been suffering from cancer, said his wife, Mary. He had worked as a linotype operator and in crafting designs for advertisements, but since 1985, he had worked in the Freedom Center composing room, laying stories on pages and preparing them to be printed. “All the old printers were craftsmen. You could depend on them to do the job,” said Bob Gust, who had worked with Mr. Bartels in the composing room since 1965. “The guy was very professional–he didn’t finish a thing until he knew it was right,” said Theodore Mitamura, a design editor at the Tribune. With his wife, he traveled extensively around the United States, and the couple often went golfing together. “He was a quiet man, a congenial person,” she said. “He got along with anybody. He never was the type for arguments.” Mr. Bartels grew up on the Northwest Side and graduated from Steinmetz High School in 1953. Having taken a printing class in high school, he soon found a job in the industry after graduation. He started at the Tribune in 1961. He was divorced from his first wife, Judith, in the 1980s, and she survives him. In addition to his second wife, Mr. Bartels is also survived by a daughter, Dorie Wilson; a son, David; a stepdaughter, Linda Helms; a stepson, Thomas Carlsen; two grandchildren; and three step-grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday in Grace Lutheran Church, Euclid Avenue and Wolf Road, Mt. Prospect.
