Bakersfield.com

All > Volunteering
Seniors are in her heart
Topics: seniors, Veterans, Volunteering, disabled
Posted by citizenjournalist Mon Jun 18, 2007 10:44:06 PDT
Viewed 1523 times
0 responses 0 comments Elizabeth Bart was shocked to hear that one of the veterans she’d been helping was struck while crossing the street on his motorized scooter and left on the side of the road last month.

Merle Chappell, 87, died a week later due to the injuries he sustained. The 19-year-old driver, Jessica Blevins, has pleaded not guilty to hit-and-run.

Bart, who helped Chappell obtain the scooter, was devastated. She has dedicated her life to aiding the elderly, especially those without spouses or children. “Those are the ones who take my heart away,” she said.

Bart helped Chappell’s sister, Gladys Kline, organize his funeral, and held the wake at her home. “It was too much for her to handle and I had to step in and help,” said Bart.
Chappell was given a full military funeral at Union Cemetery.

Bart, herself, is a veteran, and volunteers her time at the local Disabled American Veterans Association. But she has been reaching out to veterans even before she joined the military.

Many years ago, when she was working at an IHOP in Redondo Beach, she made a friend, and a lifeline.

One of her patrons was a World War II veteran by the name of Frank LaFlamme. Routinely, LaFlamme would visit the IHOP and would make “good conversation,” Bart says. They became good friends.

When Bart joined the Army, she kept in contact with LaFlamme by writing letters. He encouraged her as she dealt with the challenges of adjusting from civilian to military life.
As a matter of fact, it was LaFlamme who drove her to the recruiting office. He was her “role model,” Bart says. LaFlamme had earned a purple heart medal for sustaining a rifle shot to the head during the war.

LaFlamme was a “mentor, pseudo-uncle, and definitely a great friend,” she said.
Bart served in an administrative role from 1984 to 1987. But she had suffered hearing loss to her left ear as a result of the constant firing noise and training of her M-16 rifle at Fort Irwin, Barstow.

She went on inactive reserve status until 1990, when she obtained her Honorable Discharge.

When she was released from active duty, she and LaFlamme became even closer. She wanted to take care of him as he aged.

“LaFlamme was an orphan, never married and he had no one to look after him, so I asked him to move in with me,” Bart said.

Even when Bart was to be married she advised her husband-to-be, William Bart, of her unique accommodation with “Uncle Frank.”

She gave him the nickname because “it was too much information that had to be given out in order for us to explain our relationship, so we kept it short and sweet as Uncle Frank,” she said.

LaFlamme eventually enjoyed another 16 years of life under Bart’s care. He passed away in 2003, at the age of 87, of natural causes. The Barts buried Uncle Frank with full military honors.

After LaFlamme’s death, Bart continued her humanitarian endeavors. She visits senior citizens at nursing facilities for birthdays and poker games and takes them to the Kern County Fair and the Tachi Palace casino in Lemoore.

In 2000, when she worked at Dedicated Dental in Bakersfield, she helped write and manage a grant for a program to teach children how to keep their teeth healthy.

“Elizabeth is a very professional individual, she is extremely dedicated, very kind and very compassionate,” said Bart co-worker from Dedicated Dental, Tami England.

Bart is now the marketing director for Apollonia Dental Center in Bakersfield.

Bart earned her associate’s degree in liberal arts from Bakersfield College and her bachelor’s degree in sociology from Cal State Bakersfield.

Most of Bart’s working career after the military has been in the dental industry. However, she has another life ambition.

“I would love to open a senior citizen activity home,” she said. “My heart is there … Senior citizens are often forgotten.”

Michael Nazario is a disabled veteran and local writer.

Send to a Friend

Report a Violation