Sally Lou Bartalot

Sally Lou Lease Bartalot was born on April 10, 1938 in Kingsly, Iowa.  She died in Denver, Colorado on April 18, 2024, a week and a day after her 86^th birthday.

Sally's father’s side of the family was very musical.  Her Dad was a trombonist who had been offered a place in Lawrence Welk’s orchestra.  He turned it down because he did not look forward to all the traveling involved.  Instead he pursued a career in education, eventually becoming the Superintendent of Schools in several Iowa towns.  Her Aunt Ione was a violinist and high school orchestra teacher.  Her Aunt Margaret was a singer and a high school choral director.

Sally began teaching piano at the age of 16 and continued teaching into her 85^th year.  She started her college education, majoring in organ, at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa and completed her bachelor’s degree in Church Music at CU, Boulder. 

Sally was an extremely gifted teacher.  She started most of her students as young as 5 or 6 years old.  For continuing students she could almost instantly assess their strengths and weaknesses and create a program of study to balance the elements of their musicianship.   

Sally was also an accomplished artist and taught drawing and painting classes for many years.  There are over 30 of her paintings on display in the Smith Building of the National Jewish Health Center complex.

Sally and her husband, Robert, met in July of 1970, while participating in the Choral Institute at the Aspen School of Music.  They married later that year on December 26.  At that time Sally was Organist/Choir Director at both Temple Emanuel and Park Hill Congregational Church in Denver.

Sally left Temple Emanuel and Park Hill Congregational and taught for several years at Graland Country School.  After leaving Graland, she continued to teach piano and art privately.