Peter Palms Thurber

1928 - 2019

Peter Palms Thurber

Peter Palms Thurber, beloved son, brother, husband, father and grandfather, died on Thursday, October 17, 2019, at Westminster Place Presbyterian Home in Evanston, Illinois. He was 91 years old. Peter was born on March 23rd, 1928, to Cleveland Thurber and Marie Louise Palms Thurber of Grosse Pointe Farms. He attended Saint Paul on the Lake Catholic School, the University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Portsmouth Abbey School in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. He matriculated at Williams College graduating in 1950 and Harvard Law School graduating in 1953. He then served two years in the Army, stationed at Fort Knox, Kentucky.

Peter met Ellen Bodley Stites in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1954. They were married on April 16, 1955, and moved to Grosse Pointe. Peter joined the law firm of Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone and became involved in philanthropic and civic organizations that addressed his lifelong commitment to helping others. These included the Merrill Palmer Institute, McGregor Fund, American Red Cross, Boy Scouts of America, Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, Detroit Symphony Orchestra and University Liggett School. He was a lifelong parishioner at Saint Paul on the Lake Catholic Church. After retiring, Peter and Ellen spent part of each year in Delray Beach, Florida. "Pete" will be remembered for his kindness, dignity, sense of humor, and care and concern for others, including his strong commitment to give back to his community.

Ellen, Pete's beloved wife of 64 years, predeceased him in January of 2019. He is survived by his four children Edith Thurber (Kevin O'Rourke), Jane Thurber (Stephen Schreiber), Henry Thomas Thurber, and Sarah Thurber (Blair Miller); and nine grandchildren, Charlie and Peter O'Rourke; Kate Schreiber; Kaela, Rosemary and Paul Thurber; and Cole, Isabel and Rebecca Miller; his sister Mitzi Thurber Carlton of Hanover, NH; brother-in-law Malcolm J. Sutherland (Julie Thurber, deceased), his nephews Cleveland Thurber, III and David Sutherland, and niece Mimi Thurber Crawford all of Grosse Pointe. He is predeceased by his brother, Cleveland Thurber, Jr. (the late Elizabeth-Mary Hamilton Thurber).

A funeral mass will be held at Noon on November 16th, 2019, at Saint Paul on the Lake Catholic Church. Memorial donations can be made to Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, 333 West Fort Street, Suite 2010, Detroit, Michigan 48226.