Art Bartlett, 76, a founder of Century 21, the real estate franchising giant whose brand name eventually appeared on “For Sale” signs on lawns throughout America and even abroad, died Dec. 31 at his home in Coronado, Calif.
The cause was complications of Alzheimer’s disease, said his daughter, Stacy Bartlett Renshaw.
Bartlett and his business partner, Marshall Fisher, opened their first office in Santa Ana, Calif., in 1971. In just six years, the company signed franchise agreements with more than 6,000 brokers and was adding them at a rate of more than 150 a month.
The company is now a subsidiary of the Realogy Corp. and has more than 7,700 franchise offices and more than 120,000 sales agents in dozens of countries.
Ralph Johnson, 103, a former Wyoming lawmaker who was known as an aviation pioneer, has died.
Johnson, who lived in Cheyenne from 1935 to 1988 and served in the state Legislature from 1951 to 1953, died at a community for seniors in Tempe, Ariz., on Tuesday.
Family members say Johnson was born in 1906, less than three years after the Wright brothers flew. He joined the Army Air Corps after graduating from Purdue University’s Mechanical Engineering School and eventually became the chief test pilot at United Airlines’ Cheyenne maintenance base.
While in Cheyenne, he developed the stabilized approach to landing that is still in use, as well as several other innovations. Johnson received several aviation awards and honors for his work.
Inside. Paid obituaries and funeral notices.
