White River Jct., VT – Jerry L. Bachelder, 68, died Friday, February 1, 2019 at the Jack Byrne Center at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, surrounded by his family.

Jerry was born in Lebanon, NH, to Kenneth and Esther (Brigham) Bachelder on December 13, 1950.  Jerry grew up in Quechee and Wilder and was both a scholar and an athlete during his years at Hartford High School.  He played several varsity sports and was chosen for the 1968 Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl team. After he graduated, Jerry attended Columbia University and later the University of Vermont.

Jerry married Nancy McKenney on April 20, 1974, and they have made their home in White River Jct. ever since.  Mr. Bachelder worked as an electronic technician at the US Postal Service Processing Center in White River Jct. for 35 years before retiring due to poor health in 2008.

Jerry loved sports, and he instilled this same love in his children, coaching his son in youth sports and in later years coaching basketball alongside his daughter .  He also enjoyed spending time each summer at the family camp on Lake Champlain, where he would spend his days rising early to catch the sunrise, cooking s'mores by the campfire, and watching the sunset across the lake with his dog, Jake.

Dedicated to his family, Jerry and his wife traveled halfway across the world to visit their daughter and her husband while they were living in Vietnam in 2012, and even as his health declined, Jerry continued to take pleasure in watching his grandchildren participate in sports.

A lifelong learner, Jerry loved to read and was always interested in learning about new topics, from model railroading and ham radio to woodworking and cooking.  He became a member of St. Anthony's Parish in 2012, and his Catholic faith helped sustain him through his long illness.

He was predeceased by his parents and a brother, George Bachelder.

He leaves his wife of 44 years, Nancy, of White River Jct.; a daughter Jennifer Driscoll and her husband Peter of Hartland; a son Jeremy Bachelder and his wife Sheila of Grantham; grandchildren Catie Bachelder, Daniel Bachelder, and Lauren Driscoll; several brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, as well as many nieces and nephews.

Visiting hours will be held Tuesday, February 5 ^th at the Knight Funeral Home in White River Jct. from 6 to 8pm.  A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Wednesday, February 6 ^th at 11am at St. Anthony's Church.  A committal service will be held in Mt. Olivet Cemetery in the spring.

Condolences may be made to Jerry's family in an online guestbook at www.knightfuneralhomes.com

Contributions in his memory may be made to the Visiting Nurse and Hospice of Vermont and New Hampshire, PO Box 881 , Brattleboro, VT 05302 or the Norris Cotton Cancer Center, 1 Medical Center Drive, Lebanon, NH 03756.