Stephen P. Bartlett

Stephen P. Bartlett of Mount Airy died suddenly, on June 1, 2026. Born in New York City, he lived in Manhattan’s Upper West Side until he left to study at Harvard University. It is there where he met his future wife, Alexandra (nee Sartori); they married in 1963. He then earned his Masters in Urban Planning and in 1968, he and Alexandra moved to Center City Philadelphia when Stephen joined the Philadelphia City Planning Commission as an urban planner, which came as no surprise given his love for cities and public transportation. They then moved to Mount Airy in 1971. He enjoyed traveling; he and his family spent many summer vacations on a farm in Tunbridge, Vermont. It was one of Stephen’s “happy places,” as one can tell by this 1977 photo of him at the farm.

Stephen retired from the Planning Commission in 2001 and enjoyed spending his time gardening, reading, keeping up with home maintenance, and quiet mornings on the back porch reading the newspaper.

He is survived by his wife, Alexandra, his brother, David (Roxana Stoessel) of Boulder, CO; his sons, Frederic (Astrid Reek) of Schmallenberg, Germany; and Alexander (Robert Sands, Jr.) of Ewing, NJ; and his granddaughters Celina and Laura, also of Germany, and will be remembered for the love and generosity he demonstrated to everyone he knew. A private celebration of his life will be held in August.

The family kindly request that, in lieu of flowers, memorial donations be made to the Chestnut Hill Conservancy, 8708 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19118.