Athens, Alabama - Dr. Jerry Franklin Bartlett passed away in his home January 28, 2026. Born in Langdale, Alabama, on April 17, 1941, to J.J. and Estelle Frazier Bartlett, Jerry - the middle of five siblings - grew up in and always considered Double Springs his hometown.

A football and basketball player, he graduated from Winston County High School in 1959, and Florence State College in 1963, where he met his wife, Gisela (Jill) Beyer, whom he married in 1963.

After a brief career at Crawford & Company Insurance which moved the newlyweds to Atlanta and then Charleston, the Bartletts returned to Alabama, where Jerry enrolled in the Cumberland School of Law while Jill finished her degree at Samford University.

Upon graduation in 1967, they moved to Huntsville and then Athens, where Jerry taught business law and real estate at Athens College while Jill taught German at Athens High.

Following publication of his textbook, "Getting Started in Alabama Real Estate," Bartlett rose through the ranks, becoming the youngest Dean of Business at Athens and later, Assistant to the President. In 1990 he was named Interim President of Athens State College, and in 1991 was the first Interim President to be appointed President.

During his presidency he transformed Athens State, from the renovation and construction of numerous buildings on campus, to achieving record enrollment, to the building of the school's first free-standing library, to the school's embrace of distance learning, to the rebranding of Athens State from College to University.

He retired in 2008, after 41 years at Athens. He spent the remainder of his years restoring classic Porsches, traveling the world with Jill, and being "Opa" to his beloved grandson.

Jerry was a University of North Alabama Alumni of the Year, a Paul Harris fellow of the Athens Rotary Club, a board member of the Alabama Kidney Foundation, and a proud Methodist.

He was predeceased by his parents and wife; his brothers, Jim and Tom Bartlett; sister, Ann Preuitt; and brothers-in-law, Ken Preuitt and Dr. Don Dodd.

He is survived by his daughter, Heidi Bartlett Evans; son-in-law, D. Somerville Evans; and cherished grandson, William Beyer Evans of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; sister, Dr. Amy Bartlett Dodd; sisters-in-law, Loretta Bartlett and Anita Bartlett; and numerous nephews and nieces.

His family will be forever grateful for "the village" who looked after Jerry, especially in his later years.

Visitation will take place in the sanctuary at Athens First Methodist Church, Saturday, February 7, from 10 a.m. until 11:30 a.m., with memorial service to follow. Memorials can be made to the Jerry and Jill Bartlett Endowed Scholarship at Athens State University, Community Table of Athens, Athens Animal Services, and the Alabama Kidney Foundation.