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It is with great sorrow and regret that I must notify
you of the death of our Classmate, Bart Chambers, on July 28, 2014, in Pace, FL,
after a long, courageous battle with cancer.
Bart is survived by his wife, Susan, her daughter
Danielle and husband Jeff Koehler, and their sons Jaxen and Tysen.
A celebration of life
for Bart's family and friends will be held at Rodizio Grill, 605 E. Gregory
Street, Pensacola, FL, from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM, on 23 August.
Internment is private.
Condolences may be sent to Susan at 4277 Essex
Terrace Circle, Pace, FL 32571.
In lieu of flowers, Susan has asked that donations in
Bart's memory be sent to
Doctors Without Borders USA,
P.O. Box 5030, Hagerstown, MD 21741-5030.
Well done,
Bart. Be thou at peace.
Remembrances:
Class Memorial Pages\E-1 Bart Chambers.pdf
Obituaries:
 A few days before his death, former paratrooper and U.S. Army Captain Barton
"Black Bart" Patrick Chambers promised his beloved wife Susan he would stick
around long enough to kiss her on their upcoming wedding anniversary.
He kept his word, making his final jump early in the evening of the 27th of
July.
Bart was the first of two children from the marriage of Barbara Barton
Chambers and John Harlan Chambers, and was born 10 May, 1939, at Ft.
Screven, GA. His sister Beatrice was born four years later.
A warrior born to warriors, Bart and his father were both West Point
graduates. Bart's was the class of 1961. After West Point, Bart attended
Officer's Artillery and Jump School courses, serving at Ft. Sill, OK, Ft.
Bliss, TX, and Ft. Benning, GA. Next he was shipped overseas to West
Germany, to serve with the 81st Airborne at Erlangen and Wiesbaden. After
his tour in Germany he returned to Fort Sill, where, in 1966, he was
severely injured in an auto accident. Due to his disabilities, he was
Honorably Discharged in 1967.
Two years later, Bart went to work for the government as a civilian
undercover agent in Vietnam. At the time, aiming to debilitate U.S. troops
fighting in Vietnam, the Vietcong was heavily involved in the drug trade. By
any perspective, at the time Bart's was one of the most dangerous jobs one
could have, in one of the worlds most dangerous places.
Bart's Vietnam adventure ended when he was shot five times by someone he
trusted. That he survived the ordeal was a miracle, and he carried one of
the bullets in his abdomen the rest of this life.
His hard-charging military and intelligence work had come to an irrevocable
end. Shipped back to the States, he recovered and eventually found work as
an engineer with a Washington DC construction firm.
If you assumed this adventurer was a macho-man with little depth, you'd be
wrong. As a son, a brother, a husband, and a friend, you couldn't find a
warmer, more loyal, more consistent and more generous character. He was well
educated and a voracious reader. During his later years, one of his favorite
pastimes was to sit in his living room reading poetry while stroking Waldo
the cat, who lay across his lap.
Bart was spiritual, not religious, and he loved life, the outdoors, and
nature. Although it paid well, his engineering job didn't satisfy; in 1978
he found the job that he loved for some twenty two years - at the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. In keeping with his keen concern for
nature and conservation, Bart worked at Coastal Zone Management, involving
marine biology and the ecology.
His entire working career was spent on behalf of the country and land that
he loved. Retiring in 1999, he took residence in Pensacola where he romanced
and married the lovely Susan Orcutt-Roberts, 27, July, 2001. Later that
year, Bart's sister Beatrice passed away.
Bart is survived by his loving wife Susan, her daughter Danielle and husband
Jeff Koehler and their sons Jaxen and Tysen, whom "Papa Bart" treasured; and
by the many paratrooper reunions across the country, where he and his
friends could visit and jump together once more, for the sheer fun of it.
Bart's family and friends will privately celebrate his remarkable life at
Rodizio Grill, 605 E. Gregory Street, Pensacola, from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM, on
23 August. No flowers, please. Bart was a strong supporter of Doctors Without Borders. Many thanks also for the
wonderful cancer treatment provided Bart over several years, by Dr. Thomas
Tan, of The Woodlands
Geronimo Bart, happy landings!!
Published in Pensacola News Journal on Aug. 8, 2014
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