South Pomfret, VT – Philip “Phil” Dechert, Jr., of South Pomfret, Vermont, passed away on September 23rd, 2026 at the age of 82 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. Phil was a husband and father who loved his family deeply and his bright spirit and sense of humor will be missed. He was an avid skier, ice hockey, sailor, storyteller, ice cream enthusiast, and lover of scenic back routes through the Vermont hillsides.
Born on November 16th, 1943 in Philadelphia, PA, Phil was the son of Philip Dechert Sr. and Anne Lewis Ross Dechert and joined older siblings Frances Eliot Dechert Ricketson and Henry Taylor Dechert aka Skip. He grew up in Whitemarsh township, just outside of Chestnut Hill, PA. Phil went to Chestnut Hill Academy in Chestnut Hill, PA, and Penn Charter in Germantown, PA. He was an alumnus of Middlesex School in Concord, MA, and completed two years at University of Pennsylvania before joining First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry in about 1964 and then concurrently served in the National Guard.
Phil’s early adult years included an avid interest in sailing including a trans-Atlantic race with friends of the family. He carried that interest forward with his young family, teaching them all to crew week-long sailing trips each summer, mostly in the Buzzards Bay area where both he and his wife had family roots in Nonquitt, Massachusetts.
Phil moved in 1975 to Vermont as manager of a Rutland tennis and golf club. He was then a small business owner (Vermont Country Gourmet), and manager of the Bridgewater Mill renovation starting about 1983, but he spent most of his professional life (1990 to 2018) in municipal planning in both Norwich and Pomfret, Vermont, and in particular in roles relevant to land use, town plans, historic preservation districts, and related infrastructure like roads and trails. He wrote major updates of the Town Plan for both Norwich and Pomfret early on. For the Town of Pomfret he was Zoning Administrator and Select Board member from 2013-2016. For Norwich he was on the Planning Commission, the Development Review Board, the Affordable Housing Subcommittee of the Norwich Planning Commission and represented both towns on the Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission. In all of these roles Phil had an abiding and deep interest in how to promote walkable communities, how to bring a community together to share their past and plan for their future. He was skilled in educating the public, holding numerous educational forums for both towns, and having an open-door policy in Norwich for townspeople with questions about zoning and planning. He was deeply knowledgeable about town and state regulations and was considered a helpful resource for both Pomfret and Norwich and for managing disputes.
Some of the roles he cherished most were volunteer roles as ski instructor and then Timing Coordinator for Suicide Six Ski Runners (now Saskadena 6). He started as a parent volunteer for Ski Runners and took over managing the timing and timing equipment for all races hosted at Suicide Six – working decades beyond the time that he had any kids involved in the program. He was named inaugural “Suicide Six Volunteer of the Year” in 2006 in recognition of his work supporting the ski programs. He also cherished his time as a volunteer delivering meals for Thompson Senior Center’s Meals on Wheels program, and he enjoyed volunteering as an usher for Artistree’s theater program.
Phil is survived by his wife, Hillary Dinsmoor White Ph.D. (married 1983); his children, Jane Dechert (spouse Adam Sivel), and Hillary “Anna” Dechert (spouse Josh Harwood); and his three grandchildren, Sophia, Isabelle, and Aurora Sivel. Phil is predeceased by his siblings, Henry Taylor “Skip” Dechert and Frances “Francie” Eliot Dechert Ricketson.
A gathering to celebrate Phil’s life will be held on Saturday, December 5th, 2026, at 1:00-3:00 PM with a time to share beginning at 1:00pm at one of Phil’s favorite places, the Ski Runners clubhouse at Saskadena Six, in South Pomfret, VT. The laughter and memories he created throughout his life will be honored by friends and family as they gather to pay their respects and remember him.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to the Thompson Senior Center (thompsonseniorcenter.org) or Woodstock Ski Runners (skirunners.org).
An online guestbook can be found at cabotfh.com.
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