Bart Montgomery

Bart Russell Montgomery, 54 year old Grove resident, passed away in a house fire on May 25, 2021. Bart was born in Tulsa on June 23, 1966, to Dr. Charles and Gail Montgomery. He grew up in Laurel, MD, where his father was stationed in the army. He moved with his family as a teenager to Durham, NC, and attended community college. He worked in Apex, NC, for 12 years in a manufacturing facility.

But Bart’s true love was writing. He moved to Grove in 1994 where he began working as a photojournalist, covering every square inch and every event and function around Grand Lake, rarely seen without his camera strapped around his neck. Journalism was his life, his livelihood, and his passion. He loved covering this lake; he loved the people who lived, worked, and owned businesses here and he loved the tourists who visited here. Bart was the sole surviving staff member of The Chronicle of Grand Lake through its inception, its changing of hands and even through its name change to Grand Times on Grand Lake.

Bart was also a staunch supporter of veterans as well as a champion of homeless or abandoned animals. He is survived by his brother Clay Montgomery of Owasso, OK, his sister Amy Bowser-Rollins of Tysons, VA, his stepmother, Mitzi Montgomery of Grove, OK, and his stepbrother Eric Corley of Houston, TX. He is preceded in death by his parents and his aunt, Pennye Montgomery McLennan.