The Life of Elizabeth Graham Palmer
Elizabeth Graham Palmer, 95, died June 30, 2013 at the Sandhill Cove retirement community in Palm City, FL where she lived for nearly 20 years.
Elizabeth was born in 1918, one of three daughters, to William John and Agnes Bailie Graham of Philadelphia, PA. She was a graduate of Germantown High School and Ogontz Junior College in the Philadelphia area and Greensboro College, NC. She particularly enjoyed spending summers with her sisters, Anne and Eleanor, in Cape May, NJ where they were known as the “Graham Girls”.
Elizabeth married Rufus Edward Palmer III, MD in 1942 and had two children – a son, William John Graham Palmer and a daughter, Susan Nolan Palmer. After World War II, the family settled in Norristown, PA where her husband established a surgical practice; and she was an active volunteer in community organizations, most notably, the Sacred Heart and Montgomery Hospitals and Grace Lutheran Church.
Elizabeth’s home was always open to family and friends, and it was frequently the gathering spot for the neighborhood children. She built a reputation for being a gracious hostess and a fabulous cook, regularly sharing her homemade baked goods and soup. She was a doting grandmother to her grandson, William John Graham Palmer, Jr. and the proud owner of the infamous family dog, Rags.
After her husband’s retirement, they moved to Spring City, PA and lived part-time in North Palm Beach and then Stuart, FL. Elizabeth decided to take up golf and was the first woman to have a hole-in-one at Kimberton Golf Club in Kimberton, PA where she was one of the owners. Upon her husband’s death, she moved full-time to FL but continued to spend summers in the Philadelphia area which she always considered “her home”.
She is survived by her daughter, Susan Nolan Palmer, PhD of Chapel Hill, NC, a grandson, William John Graham Palmer, Jr. of CA as well as caring nieces and nephews throughout the United States.
Burial will be in the West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, PA. A Celebration of Life reception will be held on September 15 from 4-6 p.m. at the Kimberton Golf Club in Kimberton, PA.
The family requests that memorial contributions be made in Elizabeth’s memory to the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, CB #7295, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7295 to help establish The Palmer Family Fund for Innovative Cancer Research.
Arrangements have been made by the Bringhurst Funeral Home. A guest registry may be signed on: www.forever-care.com.
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2013.07.26
Betty was one well-educated lady, and well ahead of her time in that regard. When her husband passed, she stepped into the role of managing her family finances as though she had been a money manager all her life! Very astute on a number of issues, and blessed with a practical mind,she could have excelled at many things.Very happy we got to know each other and work together for over a decade. May she be happily reunited with her husband, son, and Rags, and perhaps even be supervising the layout of some beautiful garden up above!
Posted by Cecily J