Berenice Palmer

1917 - 2021

Berenice De Luca Palmer
June 16, 1917~June 4, 2021
…even the weariest river
Winds somewhere safe to sea.
A.C. Swinburne
Berenice De Luca Palmer died at 103 years old on June 4, 2021, surrounded by loving family. The cause of death was late onset pancreatic cancer. Born in 1917, Berenice had many stories of growing up in Atlantic City in its heyday, on the beach and the boardwalk. Berenice was an avid reader and writer of poetry, and her poems were first published in her teenage years. She attended nursing school, but withdrew to care for her mother, who died in 1941.
In July of 1944, Berenice lost her only brother, Dan Jr. when his Navy plane was shot down over Guam. This re-enforced her life-long belief that all war must end. Despite this, she joined the Navy in December of 1944 and served as a pharmacist's mate and a stenographer. A shorthand pro, Berenice recorded secret discussions between anthropologists and politicians who would later form the UN. She also witnessed the advent of penicillin and guided Helen Keller during a visit to wounded soldiers. After discharge, she studied journalism at Rutgers. Berenice married Victor Palmer in 1949 in NYC. They moved to Solvang, California and in May 1952, twins Claude and Teresa Palmer were born. Berenice became a writer for the Solvang newspaper, and after moving to the SF Bay area in 1964, she wrote for the Pacifica Tribune. Berenice loved the alternative and anti-war culture of the '60s & '70s in San Francisco and attended anti-Vietnam war demonstrations as well as many concerts in Golden Gate Park. In 1971, Berenice and Victor moved to the Castro district of SF, where she wrote for the Castro Star.
Her lively home and expandable Italian dinners were a joy to friends and family. When she left her keys dangling in the door one morning, she called neighbor Harvey Milk, who kept them at his camera shop for her to pick up later.
Berenice's only sister, Teresa Martin, moved with her family from NY to California in 1962, and all of the cousins continue to be close.
Teresa died in 1997. Berenice is survived by
3 younger generations of close family who share her enthusiasm for writing, poetry, and music, and her belief in ending all forms of war. Berenice will be buried at the Presidio National Cemetery in San Francisco after a small service, joining her beloved husband Victor, who died in 1990. A memorial gathering will be planned after the birth of her fourth great granddaughter in July
greenstreetmortuary.com