Clemens Lester Bartollas Jr.

The Reverend Doctor Clemens Bartollas’ Obituary

Clem was born in Wheeling, West Virginia on July 19, 1935 to parents Clemens L. Bartollas and Margaret F. Bartollas. He died October 6, 2025.

Growing up as an only child, he experienced several handicaps; he had a severe speech impediment and could not be understood until the end of his high school years; he was known to be a troublemaker, earning the reputation of the worse kid in town; he ranked last in his class throughout school, being forced to repeat first grade. In other words, he did not have much going for him.

Then in the midst of chaos and no direction, he decided to become a Presbyterian minister in the summer between his sophomore and junior year in high school, and it changed his life.

He became a student, a very good student in school. He turned his grades around the final two years of high school. He went on to earn a B.A. in history with honors from Davis and Elkins College in 1958, a B.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1961, a S.T.M. from San Franscisco Seminary in 1968, and a Ph.D. in Sociology with a specialty in Criminology from The Ohio State University in 1973.

In 1961, he was ordained to the Presbyterian Church by Wheeling Presbytery. He served as an Assistant Minister of the First Presbyterian Church of Saginaw, Michigan for two years, the Minister of Forest Lawn Presbyterian Church in Marion, Ohio, for five years, and the Organizing Minister of the Fairborn New Church Development for two years.

In deciding to pursue a teaching career, he attended The Ohio State University where in four years, he received his Ph.D. in sociology. He was employed as an assistant professor at Pembroke State University in North Carolina for two years, Sangamon State University for four years, and the University of Northern Iowa where he worked for forty-three years before he retired in 2023, finishing a 50-year teaching career.

He was brought to the University of Northern Iowa to develop a criminology program and eventually in 1985 developed a criminology major. At one time there were more than three hundred majors in this program. He received a positive response from students and was always pleased to hear from former students and their appreciation for his mentoring them and to be informed how well they are doing with their lives.

He married the love of his life, Linda Dippold, shortly before coming to Cedar Falls and the University of Northern Iowa. He would always make it known to Linda how much he was grateful for her presence in his life. Kristin was his daughter and he was always so proud of her. Kristin and David Polatty had one child, a son, Jake, who attended two Ivy League College and graduated magna cum laude. Linda had two daughters, Kristen and Mya, and as the years passed by, there became a very close relationship with his stepchildren. Irie Sky Bell, a granddaughter who lived with Linda and Clem from the age of three to the present. Patrick and Kristen have six children, and Clem always went out of his way to be kind to them.

Clem loved his roses. He went from knowing nothing about gardening to caring for 250 rose bushes, and all own root. He would build protection for them in the fall and then prune them in the spring. Nearly all of the roses were David Austin’s roses (from England) and for twenty years they created an awesome presence in the late spring and summers. Sadly, his back and knees had trouble maintaining the necessary rose maintenance, and it was necessary to take out one bed after the other. Today, only five rose bushes are left, and from late spring until October they flower, a reminder of what had been.

Another joy of the Bartollas’ household was the dogs that were present year after year. Typically, the dogs were Boxers and other than a short life span between nine and ten years old the loving dogs brought a great deal of pleasure to the family. The Bartollas’ then brought an English Lab Retriever’s pup into the household, and he became a long-term favorite.

Clem was always writing a book. He published 65 of them, with others in process. Some of his publications earned considerable recognition nationally and internationally. Clemens Bartollas, always the name used on his books, had his favorites (Juvenile Delinquency, Juvenile Justice, Juvenile Correctional Institutions, adult corrections, biographies, quantum theory, and criminological criminology).

In his last year at Princeton, Dr. Bartollas worked with a white youth gang. He had received the job because his predecessor had been stabbed. So, from 1961 to his retirement from teaching, he worked and interacted with violent offenders. Indeed, for thirty-five years, he was an expert witness for the defense in death penalty trials. He discovered that he was comfortable and able to work well with violent males.

Throughout his life, Clem read books. He read presidential biographies, some of the presidents (Abraham Lincoln, F.D. Roosevelt, Teddy Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Richard Nixon) he read a number of volumes. He also was fond of Jane Austen and read all of her novels. He was quite a student of the Civil War, especially the battle of Gettysburg. He also read books, especially Durant, on the history of civilization and he became passionate about Quantum theory and read book after book on this theory.

And then there was sports. He was a Pittsburgh Steeler fan all his life and particularly enjoyed the 1970s when they won four Super Bowls. Clem was an Ohio State University football fan. He surely loved his Buckeyes. They had some great seasons in the years he watched and attended their games. Beating Michigan was always a joyful event!

In terms of his participation in sports, he ran ten miles every other day for years. He played basketball on and off all his life and was known for his three point and beyond set shot. It was said that his set shot would almost draw rain clouds.

Finally, he served a small church in Washburn, Iowa for thirty-five years. He developed special relationships with so many of his congregation.

And, in fact, he asked Mary Ellermann, a member of his congregation, to conduct his memorial service.

The Reverend Doctor Clemens Bartollas was guided by four Chautauqua’s through his life:

I LOVE THE LORD!

MY LIFE BELONGS TO HIM!

THE PURPOSE OF MY LIFE IS TO SERVE OTHERS AND TO HELP THEM BE THE BEST THEY CAN BE!

IT IS GOOD TO BE VERTICAL.