Boyd C. Bartlett

Boyd C. Bartlett, 82, of Moline, Illinois, former President and Director of Deere and Company died Tuesday, March 4, 2008, in Trinity Medical Center, Rock Island.

Services are 11 a.m. Thursday in the Celebration of Life Chapel at Trimble Funeral and Cremation Center, Moline, with The Reverend Janet Lepp, St. James’s Lutheran Church, Rock Island, officiating. Burial is in Moline Memorial Park. Visitation is One hour before the services. Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society or a favorite charity.

Boyd Crownhart Bartlett was born October 21, 1925, in Cameron, Wisconsin, the son of Roy M. and Verna (Boortz) Bartlett. He graduated from Superior State University, Superior, Wisconsin. He was a Pilot in the U.S. Navy during WW II. He married Joyce Sanborn on December 28, 1946, in Superior. She died October 4, 2000. He married LaVonna Kiesele on August 17, 2001, in Cameron, Wisconsin.

Mr. Bartlett was employed by Deere and Company for over 40 years. He worked his way through the ranks to become President and Chief Operating Officer from 1985 until his retirement in 1987. He served on the company’s Board of Directors from 1979 to 1993. Prior to his employment at Deere, he taught school and was in business with his father in a John Deere Dealership in Rice Lake, Wisconsin.

Boyd was a member of St. Jame’s Lutheran Church, Rock Island, Lexington Country Club, Fort Myers, Florida, and Short Hills Country Club, East Moline. He was past president and former director of the Farm and Industrial Equipment Institute, a former director of the U. S. Farm Foundation, past president of the Lutheran Hospital Board, former member of the Board of Quad City Development Group, and active in numerous other community and industry organizations. He was a former member of Crow Valley Country Club, Davenport, Iowa, and Avondale Golf Club in California. He enjoyed military flying and golf.

Boyd is survived by his wife, LaVonna; two children and their spouses, Jeffrey and Linda Bartlett of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Martha and Chris Van Luvanee of Prescott, Arizona; step children and their spouses, Steven and Carla Sward of Rochester, Minnesota, Scott Sward and Peter Sward, both of Summit Lake, Wisconsin, Jan and Kurt Meyer of Moline, and Barb and Doug Edwards of Colorqado Springs, Colorado; five grandchildren; eight step-grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and a sister and brother-in-law, Mary Jo and Dean Johnston of Cameron, Wisconsin. He was preceded in death by a son, Gregory Bartlett, and a sister, Jane Sirianna of Wausau, Wisconsin.
Boyd’s family invites friends to sign his guestbook or light a candle in his memory at www.TrimbleFuneralHomes.com.