Georgia Mae Bartell

Georgia Bartell Arrants 1932 - 2025 Kingsburg area native, Georgia Bartell Arrants, passed away on March 14, 2025. She was 92 years old. Georgia was born on July 25, 1932, to Fritz and Esther Olson Nord. She joined three teenage siblings, Ethel, Helen, and Chester from Fritz Nord's marriage to Hannah Anderson, who died when their three children were young. The Nord family lived on Saginaw Avenue, near Clay School where Fritz served on the school board and Georgia's mother, from Turlock, was a schoolteacher. After Fritz and Esther married, she helped raise the three siblings before Georgia was born. Georgia graduated from Kingsburg High School in 1950 and went on to Reedley College. She started her 45-year insurance agency career at Herbert H. Wigh & Associates, Inc. on Draper Street in Kingsburg which later became VanBeurden Insurance Services, Inc. When she started working, the company was using hand crank adding machines and standard typewriters with carbon paper between the sheets. When she retired in 1996, there were state-of-the-art computers, and the company had expanded from one office to eight satellite offices. Over the years she had done most everything possible with the company - from file clerk to gofer to claims supervisor. On April 11, 1953, she married Leroy Bartell at the Kingsburg Covenant Church where Georgia was a lifelong member. After 45 years of marriage, Leroy died 1998 and Georgia later married Ben Arrants of Selma having 11 years with him before he died 2016. Georgia liked working on the family farm and driving the tractor when she was young. In addition to her insurance work, she loved Kingsburg with its small-town environment, drinking coffee with her friends downtown Kingsburg, taking road trips to visit with friends in Washington, spending time at her cabin at Hume Lake, singing in the Covenant Church choir, volunteering at Kingsburg Community Assistance Program and Services (KCAPS), making home-made ice cream, living on Ventura Street and visiting with her neighbors, the company of her favorite cat and attending summer band concerts at Memorial Park. Georgia is survived by her dear friends, Tammy and Ed Anderson who were always there for her; her nieces, Susan Wigh Michaud, Sara Wigh McManis, and Diane Nord DeBoer, her nephew, James Junette; many grandnieces and grandnephews. The family wants to thank Parvinder Samra and the staff at Bethel Lutheran Home Skilled Nursing for their outstanding care of loving attention for these last several years and the friends who visited her. Remembrances in Georgia's honor may be made to KCAPS or Kingsburg Historical Society or Kingsburg Covenant Church. There will be a Graveside Service at 11:00 am on March 26, 2025, at the Kingsburg Cemetery. Luncheon will follow. Services have been entrusted to Salser & Dillard Creighton Chapel. Memorial Tributes and condolences may be offered by logging onto www.salseranddillard.com.

Georgia Mae Bartell

July 25, 1932 - March 14, 2025