William (Bill) R. Bartoo

Bill was born in Lackawanna, NY to Jessie Kenneth Bartoo and Alice Emma Schwartz. As a boy he loved using his hands, leading him to build his first boat at age 12 in the family garage.

Perhaps this early love of watercraft led Bill to enlist in the U.S. Navy, in which he served for two years on a number of vessels, including the aircraft carriers U.S.S. Saratoga and Roosevelt. While in the Navy, Bill worked as a petty officer 3rd class to maintain boat electrical systems.

Upon receiving an honorable discharge in 1966, he enrolled in State College at Buffalo, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1969 and then continuing for a Master of Science Technology degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology School for American Craftsman.

Bill worked for a stint as a technology teacher at the Sherman Public School System, before beginning a career at Buffalo State as assistant professor in the Design Department.

Bill taught contemporary furniture design and later helped to establish Buffalo State as a center for watercraft studies. A master craftsperson, Bill spent his creative energy building with wood and teaching these skills to the many students that became his friends. His furniture was shown at the National Furniture Invitational, Washington Smithsonian Craft Show, and American Contemporary Works in Wood. He won the Menno Alexander Reeb Memorial Award for Sculpture at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery.

His furniture forms were inspired by nautical vessel shapes, so it is not surprising that his interests shifted to designing and building watercraft. He began this transition with studies at the WoodenBoat School in Maine. He and several design colleagues then established the Center for Watercraft Studies in Buffalo NY. Many small watercraft were built by this group, leading Bill to coauthor the popular book, Building the Six-Hour Canoe. Bill was known for his careful hand with both pencil and chisel, which allowed him to achieve breathtaking flow and precision.

Bill’s growing interest in watercraft prompted him to retire from college teaching and take an additional degree in 1995 in Yacht Design from the Landing School of Boat Building and Design in Massachusetts.

He then returned to Fredonia to establish InShore Marine, his design business, in which he created drawings for dozens of boat hulls for clients around the world.

Bill spent most of his adult life in Fredonia at his homesite on Chestnut Street. Truly a labor of love, he enlisted just about every friend and family member in building the house and shop. With the same focus he brought to furniture building, the house gradually took form over more than fifty years of effort.

Many long-term residents of the Village will remember the apples and pears he sold each year on a farm trailer out front.

An accomplished orchardist, Bill gradually transitioned his love of fruit trees to a passion for propagating hardwood trees. He was keen to collect acorns and seeds wherever he traveled. Many local residents have benefited from the seedling nursery he kept, planting the overflow that he didn’t use on his property. The homesite now has a four-acre arboretum with numerous species of oak, cucumber, sycamore, spruce, and black gum.

Bill was married to Ellen Jemison from which union he welcomed his son, Wesley. Then, in mid- life, Bill married his life-partner, Sharon Bartoo (nee Johnson). Sharon, or Johnny, has he affectionately called her, has been with him every step of this fantastic journey, whether house building, relocating to Maine and Massachusetts, traveling the U.S. by car and North American waterways on their 18′ Cape Dory Typhoon named Alice E, or sitting beneath their beloved trees with a frosty longneck on a summer afternoon.

Bill is survived by his loving wife, Sharon Bartoo, children Wesley (Crissy) Bartoo, Curtis (Alex) Bjurlin, grandchildren Wyatt Bartoo, Cyrus Bjurlin, and Theodore Bjurlin, siblings Roy (Judy) Bartoo, Sue (Bill) Briney, and Gary Bartoo, and many friends and colleagues.

He is predeceased by his son Carl (Donna) Bjurlin and brother Larry (Lona) Bartoo.

A private celebration of life will be held at the homesite on Sunday, August 4.

In lieu of flowers, we invite you to join us in creating a lasting tribute by planting trees. To contribute, please follow this link. Trees in Memory: https://shop.arborday.org/commemorative-trees-for-others?producttype=TIM

On-line condolences may be made at larsontimkofuneralhome.com.

Arrangements by David J. Dengler, LARSON- TIMKO Funeral Home.