Thomas Palmer
March 31, 1925 - July 9, 2016
Thomas L. Palmer, Jr. passed away surrounded by his family on July 9, 2016. Born south of the Red River on March 31, 1925 to Thomas and Grace Palmer, he grew up during the Great Depression on a farm near Eldorado, Oklahoma, and was still raising wheat and cotton on the family farm at the time of his death. As a young man at nearby Lincoln School, he met his true love, his future wife of 71 years, Dorothy Corley, while also discovering a lifelong love of basketball and baseball. Hours spent shooting a ball into a homemade hoop nailed to the barn helped him lead Lincoln School to the state tournament finals, riding with his teammates on a hay truck all the way to Oklahoma City. Upon graduation in 1944, Mr. Iba offered him a scholarship to play basketball at Oklahoma A&M. Instead, Tom chose to enlist in the U.S. Navy and marry his sweetheart Dorothy by year's end. After World War II, the G.I. Bill afforded him both an education and a chance to play basketball at Southwestern State College, where he graduated in 1949. He then began what would become a long career in education, teaching shop and coaching, and later becoming Superintendent of Schools at Balko, Cherokee and Sapulpa, Oklahoma. He earned his Ed.D. from Oklahoma State University in 1966, while working and raising his family. In 1971, he became President of Panhandle State College, where he retired in 1987. Tom enjoyed his retirement, playing golf, gardening, serving as a Trustee and Chairman of the Oklahoma Teacher Retirement System and ministering to others as an elder in the Presbyterian Church. He was a dedicated educator and remained an avid sports fan with loyalties to his state's colleges and universities. He found great enjoyment following his children and grandchildren in their athletic successes and academic pursuits. Tom could work with wood, fix anything, and grow the finest tomatoes. He was generous to all, never knew a stranger, and considered himself the luckiest of men.
Tom was preceded in death by his parents and his two sisters, Ophelia Leonard and Ella Mae Woodall. He is survived by wife, Dorothy; 4 children: Corley Mark Palmer and wife Linda, Patti Palmer Ghezzi and husband Albert, Stacy Metcalf and husband Eddie, Tracy Dawson and husband Michael; 11 grandchildren: Drew Palmer and wife Vanessa, Carrie Sparling and husband Jeff, Keenan Lamirand, Chinnis Lamirand, Travis Begley and wife Macy, Matt Dawson and wife Libbie, Leone Ghezzi, Will Ghezzi, Carlee Metcalf, Jake Dawson, and Rose Ghezzi; 5 great-grandchildren: Ben and Corley Palmer, Kate and Charlotte Sparling, and Baighlor Begley, as well as numerous nieces, nephews, and friends.
Visitation will be at the Trout Funeral Home in Ponca City on Monday, July 11 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Memorial services will be held Tuesday, July 12 at 10:00 a.m. at the First Presbyterian Church of Ponca City with internment following at the cemetery in Eldorado, Oklahoma. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Trout Funeral Home and Crematory. Memorial contributions may be made in his name to the Oklahoma Panhandle State University Foundation, P.O. Box 430, Goodwell, Oklahoma 73939.
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