Rhoda Marilyn (Schactman) Bartels: ‘Adventurous, brave, generous, and blessed with a wickedly sharp sense of humor’

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Rhoda Marilyn (Schactman) Bartels

Rhoda was born on November 10, 1935, in Newark, New Jersey, to Joseph and Anna (Goldis) Schactman. She and her older brother, Barry grew up there spending many memorable summers at Bradley Beach. Anna worked in a bakery, while Joseph was a long-distance truck driver. Rhoda attended Weequahic High School and was a passionate baseball fan, frequently taking the long bus ride to watch her beloved Brooklyn Dodgers. At age 14, she became president of the Jackie Robinson Fan Club and proudly collected many photos with her idol. In 1950, when The Jackie Robinson Story premiered, Rhoda had the honor of riding on the parade float next to him. After high school, Rhoda trained as a nurse’s aide, but the emerging beatnik scene in New York City called to her musical and artistic spirit. A devoted jazz lover, she often went out to see and mingle with legends like Miles Davis, Billie Holiday, and Charlie Parker.

While working summers in the Catskills, Rhoda met and married Barry Bartels. Together, they had a daughter, Jennifer. In the mid-1960s, they divorced, and Rhoda and Jennifer moved to California. She gravitated toward the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, where her beatnik roots blended easily into the rising hippie culture. She encouraged many East Coast friends to join her in Northern California, including her longtime love, Charlie Provino. In 1969, while living at the Red House in Forest Knolls, Rhoda welcomed her second daughter, Rosychan.

Rhoda was a lifelong spiritual seeker and an avid reader. She practiced Tai Chi in Panhandle Park in the Haight for many years, she studied tarot, astrology, and Transcendental Meditation. In the early 1970s, as part of the back-to-the-land movement, Rhoda and Charlie bought property in rural Humboldt County and became farmers, living off the land in their rustic home in Harris.

Always a traveler at heart, Rhoda—with her youngest daughter in tow—spent much of the late 1970s and 1980s on a series of adventures. Her journeys included several years on The Farm, a commune in Tennessee; two stints living in Ibiza, Spain; and travels through Morocco, Jamaica, Belize, Guatemala, Amsterdam, Portugal, India, and countless trips to Mexico. Despite her many travels, Rhoda always considered Humboldt her true home, where she lived a self-sufficient, off-the-grid lifestyle and faced adversity with grit and resilience. She survived CAMP in 1984—and had the t-shirt to prove it. During the 1990s and 2000s, Rhoda blended her love of music and travel by spending winters in San Blas, Nayarit, Mexico, where she brought her keyboard and guitar to perform in local restaurants. Her sets featured jazz standards, blues, Beatles classics, and favorites by Bob Dylan and Janis Joplin.

At 64, Rhoda took up martial arts, studying with Dragon Heart Tang Soo Do and earning her black belt at 68. She went on to win awards in her age group at competitions in Costa Rica and became a favorite of Grandmaster Shin. While farming remained Rhoda’s passionate vocation, her compassionate heart and healing spirit also led her to study Thai massage in Thailand, and in 2006, she became a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA). Rhoda lived life fully—and on her own terms. She was adventurous, brave, generous, and blessed with a wickedly sharp sense of humor. Whenever she tossed out a one-liner, there was a twinkle in her eye.

In her later years, Rhoda—affectionately known as Bubbe—was lovingly cared for in Arcata by her youngest daughter, Rosy, and her great-granddaughter, Alia. There, she enjoyed many sweet years filled with music, books, storytelling, and laughter. Rhoda passed peacefully with her children by her side on March 3, 2025

Rhoda is survived by her daughters, Jennifer Kurtz and Rosy Provino; her surrogate daughter Melissa (Didi) Hall; her niece, Amy Schactman; her beloved grandchildren, Julian Kurtz, Paulina Agrawal, and Karina Provino; and her great-grandchildren, Alia Provino and Anaya Agrawal.

The family extends heartfelt thanks to Hospice of Humboldt, as well as all the friends and caregivers who lent their support.