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Kenneth Franklin Palmer
Kenneth Franklin Palmer, who was born on Nov. 2, 1934, passed into Heaven on Jan. 8, 2016 after struggling with the effects of Parkinson’s Disease. He was a husband twice. He was married for 53 years to the late Ruth Virginia (Padgit) Palmer and for 2 ½ years to Vicki (Whelchel) Palmer of Kearny, Arizona. He was a good father who provided well for his three children – Joseph Palmer, Debra Schrick, and Diane Fuller (deceased). To 10 natural grandchildren and to two informally adopted granddaughters, he was entirely affectionate. To his daughters in-law and sons in-law he was kind and supportive. One grandson bears his name.
Kenneth was an army veteran and a welder by trade. He had an entrepreneurial spirit and for a few years owned a business which manufactured dump-beds and trailers for large trucks. Afterwards he worked for a copper mine, and rose in the company to be a supervisor over the fabrication and machine shops. He was a man who could figure out how to build almost anything big. His craftsmanship with metal, brick, and lumber added value to his properties and holdings. He could see in his mind’s eye what something would be like once he took the raw material and manipulated it in just the right way.
His love and dedication to his family and friends often led him to make decisions which were inconvenient for him. When his wife (Ruth) was told by a doctor to move to the dry climate of Arizona for her health, Ken did not even flinch. With little money and no job prospects he took his family from the new home he had had constructed in West Virginia and moved to Tucson. Within a week of arriving in Arizona, he was employed. He continued working for the next thirty years even when it meant taking a job which required 12 hour days over 7 days a week for 52 weeks during a year. Copper mines open and close. Every dollar was earned the hard way, and what did he do with his dollars? He not only cared for his family by providing the necessities, he also put his children through college with the one hope that they would gain an education which would allow them to work at a job they truly enjoyed.
Kenneth felt a sense of accomplishment as an employee, but he did not really enjoy his employment. What he did enjoy were his friends on the job. Roy and Red and others were the characters in many of his stories. His neighbors Lefty and Vern (and their families) were long-time friends with whom He and Ruth spent much time. Friends from churches (Del Norte Baptist, Northwest Community, Canyon Del Oro Baptist, and Fellowship Baptist) were many and very important to Ken. He was happy to be known as a believer in Jesus Christ and to be in the company of others who knew Him.
Mr. Palmer grew up during the forties and fifties. As a boy he gathered scrap for the war effort, delivered papers, and fixed bicycles. During his senior year of high school he was chosen to work after school as a machinist apprentice. He was an Eagle Boy Scout and made two trips to Philmont Scout Ranch.
He was born and raised in Parkersburg W.Va. by Joseph Franklin and Beatrice Palmer. He had two older sisters and a brother who have passed on before him. He has had four nephews and a niece, and to some (because of his kindness) he was more like a father than an uncle. The first home he owned was in Lubeck W.Va. Other homes were in Ellenboro and St. Mary’s W.Va. and Tucson, Oro Valley, and Kearny Arizona.
Memorial services for Kenneth will be held on Friday, March 25, 11 a.m. at Fellowship Baptist Church. All are welcome. A luncheon will follow.
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