Shelter Seat Bench honors memory of late dog lover, police officer
Zach and Kristine Stevenson Bartman rode a motorcycle into the Cheeseman Farm's barn when they were announced as husband and wife May 11, 2013.
They changed out of their tuxedo and dress into street clothes to perform the entire choreography to “As Long as You Love Me” by Justin Bieber that Bieber does in his live performances.
“Babe, he's playing our song” — was the last text message Zach received from his wife on July 13, 2016.
“I learned so much from her on how to deal with adversity. I wouldn't have made it through her loss if it hadn't of been for her,” said Zach, 35. “She was an angel, and I believe she was called back to heaven.”
A memorial bench will be dedicated at 10 a.m. Sunday at the Butler County Humane Society, 1015 Evans City Road in Renfrew, in memory of Bartman, who was an animal lover.
Bartman of Harmony, who was 30, died when her motorcycle was hit from behind and collided with another vehicle on the Liberty Bridge after she left a Justin Bieber concert at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.
“She was a light for anyone who knew her,” said Ann Cook, who was Bartman's sister-in-law. “It's been a rough couple of years, but it's getting better with time.”
Zach Bartman met Kristine when he was a doorman at Quaker Steak and Lube in Cranberry Township and she was a bartender at Monte Cello's, he said.“There was something about her,” Bartman said about Kristine. “I couldn't take my eyes off her.”One day, Zach complimented Kristine's tattoos and the two became friends. After a two-year friendship, Zach picked up Kristine, who he described as an adrenaline junkie, on a motorcycle he borrowed for their first date — skydiving.“She truly was fearless,” he said.The avid fitness enthusiast was a police officer for the Evans City-Seven Fields Regional Police Department and loved animals.When Kristine's brother died, the couple got their first dachshund named Roxy, Bartman said. Next, came Vienna and then Alfred, a rescue Kristine found while on the job.While on patrol, Kristine was called to a report of a stray animal and found a dog who was emaciated and had two types of worms and ear mites, he said. Kristine took the dog back to the police station and fell in love with him.The dog was taken to an animal shelter and the morning he was available for adoption, Kristine was there waiting for the doors to open, Bartman said.
Kristine's throne was a “puppy pillow palace,” he said about how her and the dogs would cuddle on the couch.“She truly was her happiest when her and all three puppies were on the couch together,” he said. “She just absolutely loved the dogs.”The couple's lives were at their happiest at the time she died, Bartman said.The day after Kristine died, Bartman said, in a sorrowful moment of clarity he told people that in lieu of flowers to send donations to the humane society, adding about $15,000 was donated that year.With the money they earned from their fitness-consulting business, Kristine and her husband dreamed to buy a farm for dog rescues, he said.Kristine and her dream will live on in the new bench at the shelter, he said.Friends, family and animal lovers are invited to gather for the unveiling of the bench and to share memories of Kristine, Cook said.The bench is located in a place that overlooks the pond on the property next to the shelter, said Jennifer DiCuccio, executive director of the Butler County Humane Society.In addition to the bench, the Bartman family donated a little over $12,000 that went toward medical care for the animals, she said.The community rallied behind Kristine's family when she died.“The community knows her story,” DiCuccio said. “When they come, our volunteers come to visit or if people are here to adopt animals ... when they sit there and see her, most of the community will know exactly who she was.”The metal bench has a plaque with Bartman's' name, birth and death dates and reads “Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened,” and will serve as a place Bartman's loved ones can visit, reflect and spend time with her because her grave does not have a headstone, Cook said.The bench is a silver lining in Kristine's untimely death, Bartman said.“I really love the idea that the bench is there to commemorate her goodwill and love of animals,” he said. “Every puppy that finds a home and a smooch helps her spirit live on.”
Kristine Stevenson BartmanBorn Jan. 2, 1986, in New Sewickley Township, Beaver County, she was the youngest child and only daughter of Kathy (Watson) Stevenson and referred to as “Sweet Pea” by her father, the late Lawrence Stevenson.She graduated from Slippery Rock University and the Allegheny County Police Academy to pursue her dream of becoming a police officer.Bartman was a police officer for the Evans City-Seven Fields Regional Police Department.She and her husband Zach owned Rule 76 Fitness.SOURCE: Butler Eagle
WHAT: Bench dedication memorial for Kristine Stevenson BartmanWHEN: 10 a.m. SundayWHERE: Butler County Humane Society, 1015 Evans City Road, RenfrewNOTE: Light refreshments and treats for dogs
