Donald L. Palmer

Donald L. Palmer a lifelong Waukesha resident found peace and was reunited with his beloved wife Joyce, Monday, October 2, 2017 at AngelsGrace Hospice at the age of 90. He was born in the town of Ottawa on July 21, 1927 the son of Kenneth and Grace (nee Schaefer) Palmer. Donald proudly served his country in the United States Army during WWII and the Korean War. On October 9, 1954 he married Joyce Peterson; she recently preceded him in death on August 22, 2017 after 62 years of marriage. Donald worked as a truck driver for many years at Spring City Trucking, and later General Cartage. He was a member of the Teamsters Local 200. In retirement, he enjoyed driving cars for car dealership transfers. Donald was a huge Milwaukee Brewer fan, rarely missing a game on TV. He was also an avid Green Bay Packer and Wisconsin Badger fan. Donald enjoyed bowling, collecting eagles and watching Jeopardy, often knowing most of the answers. He was known for his quick wit, great-sense of humor and his incredible wealth of knowledge. Donald was sharp as a tack until the end and he will always be remembered as a caring and loving husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather.
Donald is loved and will be forever missed. He was the proud dad to his daughters, Charlene (Mike “Radar”) Radle of Menomonie, Karen (Allen) Schamens of Waukesha and Peggy (James) Ribbens of Waukesha and his sons David (Bet) Palmer of Waukesha and Gary (Gigi) Palmer of Loveland, CO. He was the cherished grandpa to Lori (Ritchie) Hudson, Lisa (Bill) Casper, Rhonda (Dan) Hough, Cory (Matthew Lorbiecki) Schamens, Dena (Chad) Krueger, Thomas Ribbens, Sarah (Nick) Stacey, Duane (Cathy) Palmer, Michelle (Adam) Delzer, Wendy (Jeremy) Lamb, Kelly (Andy) Zuidema and Matt (fiancée Annie) Palmer, great-grandpa to Kolten, Kurtis, Alisun, Owen, David, Jaxon, Emma, Brayden, Beckam, Camryn, Drew, Sydney, Grady, Tatum and Paisley and recently became a great-great-grandpa to Izaiah. He is further survived by numerous nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. In addition to his beloved wife Joyce, he was preceded in death by his brothers, Lester, Gordon “Mugs”, Russ, Gibb, Roger, Jim and Eugene, and sisters Carol, Beatrice, Josephine and Armine.
The family wishes to extend their heartfelt appreciation to the nurses, aides and staff of AngelsGrace Hospice for their care, comfort, kindness and compassion provided to Donald and family in his final days.
Visitation will be held on Saturday, October 7, 2017 from 11:00 a.m. until the time of the 1:00 p.m. funeral service at the Randle-Dable-Brisk Funeral Home, 1110 S. Grand Avenue, Waukesha, WI 53186. Entombment with full military honors will follow at Prairie Home Cemetery. In honor of Donald’s love for the Milwaukee Brewers, please feel free to wear your favorite Brewer’s apparel. Memorials in Donald’s name are appreciated to AngelsGrace Hospice, N74 W35908 Servants’ Way, Oconomowoc, WI 53066.