In 1892 C.W. “Charlie” Bartholomew, C. Robert Bartholomew’s grandfather, opened the C. W. Bartholomew Funeral Home. It was previously a furniture store that stood where Parea Restaurant now stands. 

He then moved to 15 North Washington St. where Langer and Langer Law Firm is at. From there he moved to 22 North Washington St. in 1922 when Bob’s dad, C. L. “Doc” Bartholomew, joined Bob’s grandfather in the business. It was at this time the name was changed to C.W. Bartholomew and Son, which is still the legal name of the business today.

C.L. Bartholomew was a dentist and was known as Doc, he became ill in 1922 and helped his father in the family business. In 1925, C.W. Bartholomew passed away and Doc Bartholomew became the new owner of the funeral home. Doc Bartholomew was the Mayor of Valparaiso from 1934-1943. 

In 1946, he moved the funeral home to the present location at 102 Monroe St.. When Bob Bartholomew returned home from the Navy in WWII he joined the family business in 1949. 

In 1997 Bob started thinking about taking it easy and retiring. In August of 1997, Bob sold the business to an independent funeral director and friend from Valparaiso named Michael Newhard. Michael also owns Newhard Funeral Home in the town of Westville, which he has had for many years. 

At Bartholomew and Newhard Funeral Homes, we service all aspects of funeral services such as pre-need arrangements and pre-planning consultation, traditional funeral services, help with cemetery arrangements, cremation services, video life tributes, and monuments. We strive to help people during the difficult time of loss, provide dignity and respect for the deceased, and to establish long lasting, close relationships with the families in our community.