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John K. Palmer - Class of 1965

Submitted by Bill Norvell 1965 <w.norvell@att.net> on 04/Aug/2023
107.145.178.172

    John K. Palmer - It is with great sadness that the family of John K. Palmer, age 76, announces his passing on August 3, 2023, in Newburgh NY, where he was surrounded by loved ones.

John was born March 7, 1947, in Newburgh, NY. John attended St. Patrick’s School and graduated from Newburgh Free Academy in 1965. After graduating high school, John enlisted in the United States Air Force and proudly served as a Sergeant in the 552d Airborne Early Warning and Control Squadron, based at McClellan Air Force Base, CA. John served as a Radar Operator on the EC-121 and was stationed at the Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand. John was deployed on multiple missions in Vietnam and was awarded the Air Medal.

Upon his return home, John was a Systems Analyst for IBM World Trade Corporation for 30 years, until his retirement. John continued to stay busy post-retirement by participating in volunteer activities such as the Midnight Run Outreach to distribute food and clothing to the homeless in NYC. Most recently, he enjoyed working for Lock Around the Clock in New Windsor, NY.

Throughout his career and his military service, John traveled to 22 countries. As a natural-born storyteller, John loved to share details of his adventures around the world including his travels to the Australian Outback, Chile, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Taiwan, and England, just to name a few. His absolute favorite place to visit was Ireland, where his family is from.

John was known to anyone he encountered as a jokester. He always wanted to share a joke (or 10) to make someone smile. He was even sharing jokes with the amazing, compassionate, and loving staff at Montefiore St Luke’s Cornwall Hospital until the day he passed.

Since John was a child, he has loved dogs. His passion was rescuing senior dogs and those that had special needs, to give them a loving home. His current rescue dogs, Pablo and Watson, even got to visit him in the hospital.

John is survived by his three children: Jason Palmer (Jennifer Natale), Jennifer (Palmer) Malcolm (Justin Malcolm), Justin Palmer (Jennifer (O’Keefe) Palmer) and six grandchildren: Nathaniel, Jasmine, Cole, Norah, Delaney and Donovan.

He is also survived by his former wife, the mother of his children, Rita (Detmer) Froehlich (Frank), his sister-in-law Barbara (Meyer) Palmer and his niece Megan (Palmer) Desnoyers (Andrew), along with several other nieces and nephews and many lifelong friends.

John is predeceased by his parents, Kenneth and Marion Palmer.

Visitation will be held on Sunday, August 6th, 2023 from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM at the Brooks Funeral Home (481 Gidney Ave, Newburgh, NY 12550). A funeral service will be held on Monday, August 7th, 2023 at 11:00 AM at the same location.

Contributions in John’s honor can be made to the Hudson Valley SPCA, 940 Little Britain Road, New Windsor NY, 12553 or Tunnel to Towers Foundation, please check Dedicate my donation in honor or in memory of someone, and list in memory of John Palmer. - March 7, 1947 ~ August 3, 2023