Stephen Cragin Bartow, born March 30, 1938 to Howard Key Bartow, Jr. and
Barbara Wires Bartow, passed away peacefully on August 25, 2022 in Duxbury,
Massachusetts. Born in Boston, Steve grew up in the town of Hingham, Massachusetts
with his two sisters, Susan and Cindy. An avid outdoorsman, Steve spent his childhood
days exploring the woods, marshes, and coastline of Massachusetts’ South Shore. Steve’s
father, Howard, helped instill Steve’s passion for the outdoors with his own enthusiasm
and skill. A keen observer of the natural world and talented carver of wooden birds,
Howard encouraged Steve to master fishing, hunting, sailing, and skiing at a young age.
Steve’s childhood friend, Dick Cramer, also of Hingham, was a frequent companion on
fishing expeditions for lake trout and is present in many of the photos from his childhood.
Dick remained a close friend until his death.
Steve attended the Governor’s Academy (formerly Governor Dummer
Academy) in Byfield, Massachusetts, where he distinguished himself as an accomplished
wrestler and pole vaulter. After graduating in 1956, Steve attended Colby College in
Waterville, Maine, where he met lifelong friend Pete Collins and forged a deep
connection with Southern Maine that would last a lifetime. Partway through his time at
Colby, Steve left to complete 21 months of military service in the U.S. Army. Honorably
discharged in 1960, Steve later returned to Colby to complete his degree. After
graduating from Colby, Steve went into finance and worked in both New York City and
Boston, becoming a pioneer in the field of global fixed income markets. He is credited
with developing the early software for the Forex Calculator, which analyzed the risks and
benefits of foreign exchange trades. He started his own company, BMI International,
before becoming a fund manager for Putnam Investments. Barron’s magazine once
referred to Steve as a “World-Class Player.”
Boston is where Steve met his wife, Karin Skooglund. Married in 1968, Steve
and Karin had two children, Felecia Bartow and Christopher Key Bartow. After a few
years of living in and around Boston, Steve and Karin settled their family in Cohasset,
Massachusetts. Steve passed on his love and passion for the outdoors to his children,
taking them sailing in his Flying Scott, hunting ducks in local marshes and tidal zones,
fishing for trout during summer trips to New Hampshire and Maine, and skiing in the
White Mountains. Steve and Karin were divorced in 1991.
After retiring from Putnam, Steve moved to the Florida Keys. Living on Lower
Matecumbe, Steve spent his days fly fishing for bonefish and tarpon along the coastlines
and mangrove forests of the Lower Keys. Surrounded by old friends and new
acquaintances, Steve settled easily into life in Florida. He looked forward to taking
friends and family out on his flats boat to share his passion for sport fishing. He was most
at home “poled up” on a flat somewhere, scanning the shallow grass beds for bonefish
tails. Steve was a graceful fisherman with a beautiful casting arm that could place a fly
perfectly every time. He used flies that he tied himself, including his personal favorite,
the “orange death.” While in Florida, Steve met longtime partner, Marie-Cecile Dutos.
For more than a decade, Steve and Marie-Cecile traveled the world, spending summers in
the French Pyrenees, visiting his sister Cindy and her family in Scotland, and returning to
the Florida Keys in the winter. Marie-Cecile currently resides in her native France; she
and Steve remained close friends until his death.
In the remaining years of his life, Steve spent his time enjoying his children and
grandchildren, teaching them to fish and watching them swim in the canal behind his
home. He grew closer to his community and his neighbors in the Keys, who watched over
him and supported him with kindness and compassion. He tended his orchids and the
avocado trees surrounding his home, and he frequently enjoyed meals out with friends.
After a steady decline in his health, Steve moved back to the South Shore of Boston to be
closer to family and to have the support of an assisted living facility. In his final days,
Steve was surrounded by his friends, his children, and his grandchildren.
Steve is survived by his two children, Christopher (Marta) Bartow of Willits,
Calif. and Felecia (Tom Fuchs) Bartow of Newton, Mass., as well as four
grandchildren, Raylan and Cyrus Bartow of Willits, Calif. and Charlotte and Julia
Bartow Fuchs of Newton, Mass. He is also survived by his siblings, Susan Christie of
Orleans, Mass. and Cynthia Forbes of Carnoustie, Scotland, as well as many nieces and
nephews he loved dearly. He is preceded in death by his parents Howard Key Bartow Jr.
and Barbara Wires Bartow, his former wife Karin Skooglund, and his brother-in-law
Graham Forbes. He is also preceded in death by dear friends Richard C. Cramer, Peter
Collins, and Jane Collins, who were like family to him.
Steve will be laid to rest in the Cohasset Central Cemetery’s Daniel C. Cotton
Columbarium. In lieu of flowers or gifts, please make donations in Steve’s name to the
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Foundation,
https://floridakeysfoundation.org/. May he Rest in Peace.