John Barrett Artopoeus, a retired vice president of Burson-Marstellar, a New York public relations firm, died March 19 in Mandeville, LA. He was 89 years old. Born and raised in New Jersey, he resided in Mandeville for the last 19 years.
He was a communicant of St. Anslem Roman Catholic Church, Madisonville, where he served as an extraordinary minister of the Eucharist. He had also served communion to Catholics at St. Tammany Parish Hospital. He was a member of the founding team of the parish’s RCIA program and long-time member of the Knights of Columbus, since his New Jersey residence.
He was awarded the St. Louis Medal from the Archdiocese for his service. He served in the Army National Guard for four years and the Navy for three years. He was about 18 years old when he enlisted in the 1st Cavalry Troop A New York Volunteer Calvary.
He learned to ride a horse at the Army National Guard Squadron A Armory in Manhattan and completed maneuvers at Camp Drum. During the Korean Conflict, he enlisted in the Navy to complete his military service and earned the Good Conduct Medal. His journalism career began on the copy desk with The Newark Evening News, where he later became a reporter and then Night Editor.
After military service, John complete his formal education, graduating from Seton Hall University with a B.A. and Columbia University School of Journalism with a Masters Degree. He was recruited for the Asbury Park Press by then, Managing Editor Tom Tighe, his professor at Columbia. At the Press, John met and married his wife, Barbara.
At Burson-Marstellar, John devised and taught a widely copied, but never equaled, writing workshop for the staff and clients. He read and edited all staff copy. The firm’s clients included the American Medical Association, Owens-Corning and the American Psychiatric Association, among other major corporations.
In 1982, he edited the Army Report for President’s Private Sector Survey for Cost Control, for which he received a letter of thanks from President Ronald Reagan. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Barbara Gannon Artopoeus, and their daughter Ellen Barrett Artopoeus Cutrell (V. Leslie Cutrell) and many nieces and nephews.
Relatives and friends are invited to the Funeral Mass at St. Anselm Catholic Church, 306 St Mary St, Madisonville, LA 70447 on Wednesday, March 27, 2019 at 11:00 AM with visitation from 9:00 AM until Mass time. Interment will follow the service at the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Cemetery, Slidell, LA. Please Share a Memory on the Tribute Wall at www.
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