Ned K. Barthelmas, age 87, passed away on May 16, 2015. He resided upon death at First Community Village.
Ned was born and raised in Circleville, where in March of 2014, he received the Hall of Fame award. He attended UCLA and later OSU with a BS degree in business administration in 1950.
He served in the Infantry and the Adj. General’s Dept. of the U.S. Army in the mid-forties.
He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Jane Livezey Barthelmas; son and daughter-in-law, Dick and Beth Barthelmas; daughter and son-in-law, Ann and Marv Larger; five grandchildren, Phil Larger, Ashley Zimmerman (husband Lars Zimmerman) of Breckenridge, Colorado, Stephen, David and Michelle Barthelmas, all of Columbus; sister, Marilyn Wise of Circleville; and many nieces and nephews.
After graduating from OSU, where he was president of the Commerce College Council and a member of Phi Delta Theta, he worked several years with GE and Glidden Co. before entering the securities business in 1953 with the Ohio Co. Five years later, he formed First Columbus Securities Corp. and was president and majority owner until 1975. He was founder, owner and president of First Columbus Realty Corp., which developed and owned commercial and industrial real estate and shopping centers from 1960 to present.
Ned served on some two dozen Boards of Directors and was voted by Business First as one of the Top 25 Corporate Directors in Central Ohio, and by Ohio Citizen Journal as one of the 10 Outstanding Businessmen in Columbus. He was director, underwriter, and/or financial adviser to such firms as Worthington Industries, Bank One, Buckeye Steel, Lancaster Colony, Liebert Corp., White Castle, Medex, National Foods, Eastern Bankcorp, Nationwide, Majestic Paints, Galbreath Real Estate Trust, Marzetti’s and Armac Enterprises (back then the largest maker of pool tables) with Minnesota Fats as a co-board member.
He was a past full member of the New York Stock Exchange (serving on their Ethics Committee), the American Stock Exchange, and served as past board member and president of the Ohio Stock and Bond Broker’s Assoc., District Board of the National Association of Security Dealers (v-chair), the Investment Bankers Assoc., and The National Stock Brokers Assoc. (Past President), Past Pres. of the Columbus Young Presidents Organization, Past President and Director of Columbus Jr. CC, YMBC, and Past Trustee of Columbus Area CC. Voted into Executive Hall of Fame by the World Presidents Organization, Past Trustee of the Executive Club of Columbus and Columbus Area Growth Foundation. Listed in seven different editions of Who’s Who including, Who’s Who in Corporate Real Estate, Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in World, Who’s Who in the 21st Century, and Winston Churchill’s Wisdom Hall of Fame.
He was a past member of the board of directors of a number of charities including Boy Scouts, Columbus JC Youth Foundation, Kiwanis Club (Legion of Honor), Community Redevelopment Council (Past President and Director) co-founder of United Way Pacesetters’ Club, and others. Past Vice-Chair and member Board of Trustees of First Community Church, First Community Retirement Village and founder of the Barthelmas Charitable Fund of the Columbus Foundation, which recently reached its goal of $1 million which will be distributed over the ensuing years to needy charitable causes. Currently member of International Society of Financiers, the International Real Estate Institute, IREM, the Council of Ethics in Economics, the World Presidents Organization, Columbus Presidents Organization, Council of Organization for American States, American Legion, Columbus Admiral’s Club, the Presidents Council of the Heritage Foundation, the CATO Institute, and Broad Street Presbyterian Church. Was also a charter member of the National World War II Museum.
He was a member of the President’s Club of OSU, Scioto Country Club, the Columbus Club, Crystal Downs Country Club of Frankfort, Michigan, the Wrigley Mansion Club of Phoenix, Arizona, and the OSU Faculty Club. He was an itinerant world traveler having visited all seven continents and 66 countries thereon. He visited six of the Seven Wonders of the World and all three of the largest waterfalls.
Upon written request of the deceased to his family, there is to be no funeral or service of memory. He states that he wishes to be cremated and his ashes spread among the wild flowers in the woods behind the tennis court of his beloved Michigan summer home.
Donations in his memory can be made to the Barthelmas Charitable Fund of the Columbus Foundation, 1234 E. Broad St., Columbus, Ohio 43205.
Family has entrusted Schoedinger Northwest Chapel with Ned’s final arrangements.
This article originally appeared on The Pickaway News Journal
