Vernie Lee Bartlett was born on a family farm on Possum Trot Road near Compton, Newton County, Arkansas, on June 5, 1921, the son of Robert Dewey and Luler Plumlee Bartlett. He was the oldest of ten children, eight of whom survived childhood, including four brothers (Ernie, Leonard, Roy Fay, and Jasper) and three sisters (Gertrude, Adean, and Ruby). Bartlett attended local schools, but there was no high school in walking distance, so he repeated the eighth grade three times, seeking a way to attend high school. He heard about the School of the Ozarks, in Point Lookout, Missouri, where one could “work” their way through high school and began attending high school there in 1938. Bartlett was drafted in August 1942 and served in the Pacific theater during World War II, earning several honors and medals. He returned to the School of the Ozarks to complete his high school diploma on May 30, 1947, the same day he married Marjorie Kiddoo. Marjorie Kiddoo, a native of Kansas, was also a graduate of the School of the Ozarks.

After graduating from the School of the Ozarks, the couple moved to Batesville, Independence County, Arkansas, where he graduated from Arkansas College in 1950. Bartlett then started seminary at Austin Theological Seminary, Austin, Texas, a theological seminary for Presbyterian ministers, graduating in 1953. Bartlett felt called to serve in small church ministry, and therefore returned to Snowball, Searcy County, Arkansas, following graduation from seminary. He served in Snowball in four small Presbyterian churches from 1953-1960 and then accepted a position at Sylvania Presbyterian Church in Lonoke County, where he served from 1960-1963. Bartlett earned the distinction of representing the Southwest region as the Rural Minister of the Year in 1963 (an honor given by Progressive Farmer magazine.) In that same year, Bartlett accepted a position serving in several small churches in Bradley County, Arkansas, where he served the rest of his active career as minister, retiring in 1986. Following his retirement and return to Newton County to cultivate his ancestral farm, Bartlett accepted the offer to minister to a small church called Capps Presbyterian Church, located near Harrison, Boone County.

In addition to ministering often multiple small churches, Bartlett was an integral part of his local community in each locality in which he served. He was a farmer ready to lend out equipment or help those around him, and he was a teacher and even principal for a time.

Bartlett died at Northwest Medical Center in Springdale, Washington County, Arkansas, on May 16, 1999. He was survived by his wife, five daughters (“Sharon” Sue Bartlett, Morgan, “Shirley Ann” Bartlett Bashford, “Janie” Lee Bartlett, Floella “Rosemary” Bartlett Butler, and Nancy “Regina” Bartlett Rinehart), and ten grandchildren.