HANOVER COUNTY, Va. — In appears 52-year-old John Ray Bartgis kept his sense of humor, even in death. While the Hanover man lost his battle with lung cancer — he was able to get in one last dig at his favorite football team, the Washington Redskins.
“John was also a die-hard Washington Redskins fan,” Bartigis’ online obituary read. “One of his final wishes was that the team members would be his pallbearers so they can let him down one last time.”
Bartigis, a staff sergeant in the National Guard, passed away Monday. His family received friends from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, at Monaghan Funeral Home in Mechanicsville. A funeral service is scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday.
His family asked friends and loved ones to make a donation in John’s memory to the American Cancer Society.
