At 77, a Yakima Pioneer Slips Away to Wed
Joseph Bartholet Sr., one of Yakima’s wealthiest and most respected old settlers, stuns his family by marrying Mrs. Mary Healey in Seattle without a word of warning.
There have been a number of marriages within the past year that have carried with them surprise to this community, but no one event in this line has created greater astonishment than the announcement of the marriage at Seattle on Wednesday, Aug. 30, of Joseph Bartholet, Sr., to Mrs. Mary Healey, both of this city. Mr. Bartholet is one of the oldest and most respected citizens of Yakima as well as one of the wealthiest, and he had left his home for the Sound a few days previous without giving any notification of his matrimonial intentions, and his age, 77 years, had precluded any idea of it to enter the minds of his children. Mrs. Healey is a woman of mature years and has been employed for some time past at the Catholic schools.
“His age, 77 years, had precluded any idea of it to enter the minds of his children.”
A 77-year-old patriarch’s secret wedding was prime society copy because family, money and reputation were public property in a small city. Late-life romance and blended families still set tongues wagging, but the item also recalls a time when a prominent man’s private choice could be reported as community news.
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