DEREK PALMER BARTLETT

MIDDLEBURY — Derek Palmer Bartlett, beloved husband, father, son, brother, friend, teacher, coach passed away suddenly on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, at Porter Medical Center, Middlebury surrounded by his family.

Derek was born on Jan. 5, 1972, in Norwich, Conn. He is the son of Dorothea and Mickey Bartlett who reside in Salisbury, Vt. Derek attended elementary school in Plainfield, Conn., before moving to Vermont with his family in 1985. Derek attended Middlebury Union Middle School and Middlebury Union High School, where he graduated in 1990. While at MUHS, he was a three-sport athlete, served as captain for both the football and hockey teams and was the recipient of the Dorey Cup and Paul Gonzales Athlete of the Year Award.

Derek graduated from Assumption College, Worcester, Mass., in 1994 with his B.A. in Marketing, but upon returning to Middlebury that summer, quickly realized he wanted to be a teacher. He completed the Peer Review program and obtained his licensure the following year. Derek worked as a paraeducator at Middlebury Union Middle School from 1994-1996, where he also completed his student teaching. In 1996, Derek was offered a long-term substitute position at Barstow Memorial School in Chittenden, Vt., as a Mathematics and Language Arts teacher. He was offered a fulltime position and continued to teach there until 2000.

In the fall of 2000, Derek was offered a fulltime position at Middlebury Union Middle School, where he taught math for 12 years. While teaching at MUMS, he also served as the Athletic Director for several years. In the fall of 2012, Derek was asked to join the MUHS faculty as a math teacher. In the fall of 2024, Derek was the senior member of the MUHS Math Department as he began his 28th year of teaching.

For the past 30 years, coaching was a very important aspect of Derek’s life. He loved hockey in particular, organizing preseason skating clinics every fall and running street hockey camps for several summers through the Middlebury Recreation Department. His proudest moments were coaching the Varsity Boys’ Hockey team (2010-2022) when they won the State Championship in 2011, the VT Boys’ Make-A-Wish all-star hockey classic in 2012, when they beat New Hampshire for the first time since 2004, and the Girls’ Varsity Hockey team (2013-2018) when they won the 2014 State Championship, which was the first title in the history of the girls’ hockey program. The pinnacle of Derek’s hockey journey was when he coached his daughter Alexis and the U16 Vermont Shamrocks’ Girls’ team in back-to-back USA Hockey National Championship games in 2017 and 2018.

In addition to coaching at the high school and club levels, Derek also coached many youth teams within the Middlebury Amateur Hockey Association, from learn-to-skate to U14, with multiple state championships along the way. He spent countless hours at the Memorial Sports Center coaching hundreds of young skaters, including his own children. Outside of hockey, Derek coached youth and JV lacrosse, flag football, and high school football. Derek believed in teaching life through sports, emphasizing integrity, respect, character and work ethic. He believed that attitude was everything.

In 1994, Derek married the love of his life and best friend, Nicole (Nikki) Quesnel. They have four beautiful children: Keenan, 28, (wife Isabelle Wadleigh); Lauren 26, (fiancé Marshall Slade), and twins Alexis and Derek “Kamrin,” 23. In addition to his wife and children, Derek is survived by his parents, Dorothea and Mickey Bartlett; his sisters, Bronwyn (husband Michael Healey and daughter Harriet); Nikki (husband Matt Stein and children Hollis and Vivienne); his sister-in-law Ann Rubright (husband Brett and their children Brooke and Bode); and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins (including 33 first cousins!).

Outside of coaching, Derek was a musician (drummer) and motocross enthusiast. He had three drum sets, including his original Pearl set from his 9th birthday. If he wasn’t playing music, he was listening to his favorite songs at the highest volume. When Derek and Nikki built their dream home in 1999, Derek also built a full-size motocross track on the property and spent years maintaining the track for that “perfect ride.” During COVID, Derek designed and built a regulation wiffle ball field, including lights for night games. Through the years, family and friends would gather for a big game, and it was one of the highlights of each summer. He was a kid at heart and found great joy in bringing people together.

The family has established a memorial fund in Derek’s honor. Gifts can be mailed or dropped off at any National Bank of Middlebury branch to: The Derek P. Bartlett Memorial Fund, c/o The National Bank of Middlebury, PO Box 189, Middlebury, VT 05753.

If you would like to make a gift via electronic banking, please call 802-388-4982 and customer support will assist with the secure transaction.

“Make it a great day!” ◊