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Obituary for Gerald Burton Palmer
Gerald Burton Palmer was born March 31, 1921, in Minneapolis, MN, and passed away on March 20, 2007. Gerald was born again into the Kingdom of God at age nine. The sixth of nine children of Ralph Waldo and Bessie Ethel (Stubbs) Palmer, he moved with the family to the farm on Balsam Lake, WI, in 1921. After graduating from Milltown H.S. (1939), he attended Northwestern College in St. Paul (1939-42). After working in the shipyards in Long Beach, CA, during World War II, he attended and graduated from Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, TX, in 1945. He then began a long career of Southern Baptist mission work serving first as a missionary in New Mexico and Colorado (1946-57). He met and married Mary Elizabeth (Libby) Palmer on June 25, 1949. Gerry and Libby started the Calvary Baptist Church in Trinidad, CO, in 1954 and served as pastor until moving to Albuquerque, NM, in 1957 to work statewide with Spanish-speaking and Native American people. While in New Mexico, Gerry and Libby had four children: Warren, David, Timothy and Marcia. In 1960, the family moved to Atlanta, GA, where Gerry worked for the Home Mission Board in a variety of positions and retiring as vice-president in 1989. In retirement he served with the Northwest Baptist Convention and in various positions with Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptists. In 1995, Gerry and Libby began work with the Hope Baptist Church in Rice Lake, WI. He served as a pastor until his death. Gerry Palmer is survived by his wife, Libby, sons Warren, David and Timothy, daughter Marcia Laster, seven grandchildren, brothers Howard and Gordon Palmer, sister Gaylie Paul, and sister-in-law Alice Palmer. Gerry was prededed in death by brothers Myron, Winton, Kenneth and Jerome Palmer and by sister Ruth Mattson. Public visitation was at the Rowe Funeral Home in Centuria, WI, on Friday, March 23, 2007, with graveside services at New Home Cemetery on Saturday. A memorial service was held on Saturday, March 24, 2007, at Hope Baptist Church in Rice Lake, WI.
