Elmer Forrest Bartley

Elmer Forrest Bartley, born October 24th, 1953 in Seattle, Washington, died April 29, 2026 in his home in Spanaway, Washington from complications of cancer.

In 1962 the family moved to Santa Maria, California. He attended school there and later graduated from UC Davis with Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Economics. After school he joined the US Army and then Army Reserves, retiring with the rank of Chief Warrant Officer 4. While in the Reserves his civilian job was that of a tax auditor for the State of Colorado. After retiring from the U.S. Army and the State of Colorado, he joined his family in Washington State.

Frogs were an important part of Elmer's life. In college he started his lifelong hobbies of collecting and drawing frogs. He became a member of the Cal Aggie Alumni Association and donated generously to their Economics department as well as to amphibian studies students. He volunteered for decades with the Washington State Department of Ecology doing frog surveys. He also developed the Journal of Amphibian Economics, a light-hearted, privately circulated creation. Elmer was fluent in several languages and used them in his military intelligence work in the Reserves as well as in his extensive travels around the world. Last summer he was able to fulfill a lifetime dream of crewing on a tall ship. It sailed from Seattle to San Francisco, he was thrilled!

Elmer was preceded in death by his mother, Elizabeth Bartley, his father, Elmer Chase Bartley and twin brother, Earl William Bartley. He is survived by his three sisters, Margaret Anne Bartley, Roberta Williams nee Kathryn Bartley, Mary Elizabeth Bartley, half-sister Nora Mocan and half-brother Matt Bartley as well as several nieces and nephews. 

A celebration of life will be scheduled at a later date.  Please keep an eye on this space for more information.