Jim Palmer's Obituary
Jim Palmer passed away on October 9th, 2023 at the age of 83 in Gainesville, Florida at Oak Hammock Rehab Center. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio to Walter and Clara Palmer and grew up in Parma, Ohio where he attended St. Edward High School.
He is survived by his wife, Carla, of 61 years and his two sons, Michael, of Tampa, Florida and Christopher, of Los Angeles, California.
Jim graduated from Ohio University in 1963 with a degree in civil engineering after which he immediately began his engineering career in St. Louis, Missouri having been recruited to work on aerospace programs of Mercury, Gemini and Apollo projects.
He moved his family to Orlando, Florida in 1966, to work on aerospace projects where they have resided in various cities throughout the state since.
He was a little league coach and umpire when his sons were younger and was active in the YMCA Indian Guides for dads and sons and the Cub Scouts. He loved to canoe the rivers of Florida and was active in canoe racing, distance running and softball.
Later in his engineering career Jim left the aerospace industry and turned his engineering talents to working for the Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Commission, where he designed and built boat ramps and docks and headed an award-winning team to provide Florida citizens and tourists access to the water resources of the state.
Jim was well known in his work as a board-of-trustees member, and volunteer for the Unity Church of Fort Myers, Florida, where he and his wife, Carla, resided for 17 years before moving back to the North Central Florida area in Gainesville.
Jim was loved and respected by many who knew him as a quiet man of deep spiritual understanding, leadership and belief in the goodness of life and love for everyone.
There will be a Celebration of Life service for Jim at Unity Church of Gainesville, Florida, 8801 NW 39th Ave. 32606, on Friday, January 19, at 10:30 am with a reception-luncheon following the service at Haile Village Bistro at 5323 SW 91st Terrace, Gainesville, FL 32608.
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