Solon "So" Palmer Jr.

Palmer Jr, MD Solon "So" LA JOLLA -- Solon "So" Palmer, Jr, was born in New York City on March 19, 1918, and died in Carlsbad, CA on May 28, 2014. His parents were Solon Palmer, Sr. and Mary Loving Wright Palmer, who met in New York City soon after his mother moved from Kentucky to study singing at the Julliard School. His father worked in the family business, Solon Palmer Perfume of New York, the first major manufacturer of perfume in the United States. Founded by So's chemist great-grandfather in 1847, the company also made soap, cosmetics, and other body care products. In addition to Solon, Jr., the Palmers had a daughter, Harriet, who later married Dr. Richard Pickens of Nashville and had four children. During his boyhood in Manhattan, Solon attended both the Dalton School and the Riverdale Country School. After graduation, he was accepted to Princeton University. Around that time, his family moved to South Mountain Avenue, in Upper Montclair, New Jersey. As a pre-med student at Princeton, Solon majored in physical sciences and competed as a member of the fencing team. In 1940, he graduated with honors in Biology and began his medical studies at Columbia University. He completed his education at Cornell University, graduating in 1944. During World War II, Solon served as a First Lieutenant in the Army Medical Corps. He was appointed Assistant Chief of Medical Services at Fort Knox, Kentucky. At the time of his enlistment, he was engaged to be married to Margaret "Peggy" Jane Batt, the little girl next door who had blossomed into a beautiful young woman while Solon was away at college. Peggy was the daughter of Margaret Dugan Batt and George Kenneth Batt. Margaret was a board member of the family- owned Dugan Brothers Bakery, which had factories in New York and New Jersey and a fleet of trucks that delivered baked goods directly to people's homes, the first bakery to do so. So's father-in-law, George Kenneth, was a former vice-president of Macy's who partnered with his wife's brothers in the running of Dugan Brothers. A date was set for Solon and Peggy's wedding, with plans put into motion for a ceremony and reception in New Jersey. At the last minute, Solon was unable to secure enough time off from his duties at the hospital and a ceremony was hastily organized in Nashville to enable the couple to be married on the scheduled date. In attendance were immediate family, a few new acquaintances, and a handful of strangers. Following the modest ceremony, Peggy continued her contribution to the war effort by setting up house in a shared flat. The couple's first child, Margaret Markland Palmer, was born in Louisville during those few years the young family lived in the South. Solon was promoted to Captain and awarded an accommodation ribbon for his service to the United States Medical Corps., where he supervised the care and treatment of American soldiers as well as German prisoners of war. Later he would take great pleasure remembering and telling stories of this period of his fledgling medical career. After his discharge from the Army, he joined the First Medical Division at Bellevue Hospital in New York City as an Assistant Resident. He was part of a team headed by the Nobel Prize winner Dr. Andre Cournard, the first doctor to put a catheter in a human heart. In 1950, the Palmers, with young daughter Marky, moved to La Jolla, CA. Later that year, Barbara Sandford was born, followed by Solon "Pete" Palmer, III. Solon worked in the private practice of his uncle, Dr. Burnett Wright, for several years before joining Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation. He spent over thirty years there until his retirement at the age of 70. Solon was the first chairman of the International Center at the University of California at San Diego, where Peg was instrumental in co- founding the Hospitality Program. So and Peg loved to swim and snorkel, spending many happy days at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club and in Hawaii. They also traveled extensively throughout Europe and Asia. So was a certified scuba diver, an avid reader, read and spoke French, and loved to hunt and fish. He accepted an invitation to serve on the Residents Council at La Costa Glen in Carlsbad and to be a medical adviser to their patient center. On January 31, 2012, two and a half years before So passed away, Peg died. Peg and So were married for 67 years and are survived by their children, Margaret "Marky" Markland Gordon-Espe, Barbara Palmer Dixon and Solon "Pete" Palmer, III; grandchildren, Natalie Rose Dixon and Grace Palmer Dixon, Tristan Palmer; and cousin, Susan Wright Murphy, of La Jolla.