Douglas Shaw Palmer

Douglas Shaw PALMER Beloved husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather, died February 15 after a long illness. Doug was born May 16, 1921 in Cleveland, Ohio. His youth was spent in many cities throughout the Midwest and East as his father moved about in his mechanical engineering jobs. On one move from Morristown, New Jersey to Peoria, Illinois during his senior year in high school, he met his future wife, Ida Grace Miller, in the office of The Opinion, the Peoria High School newspaper, where Ida was editor. Doug had been editor of his Morristown High School newspaper. Graduating from Yale University, Phi Beta Kappa, in 1942, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II. Ida and Doug were married January 3, 1943. Serving first in the infantry, after his initial training, he was assigned to stay on at the Marine Base in Quantico, Virginia as an instructor. Wanting to move on to the fighting, he thought he could best accomplish this by transferring to the air wing, and he received his pilot's license in 1944. As a captain, he and his crew were to be sent to the South Pacific when the war ended. After the war, he worked for advertising agencies in New York City and Peoria, Illinois for several years before going to Yale Law School, graduating in 1951. He practiced for several years in New York City with Winthrop, Stimson, Putnam and Roberts before moving to Seattle in 1954 where he joined the firm of Wright, Innis, Simon and Todd. Some years later he became a sole practitioner, retiring in 1991. For the past few years, he had been busy writing a book entitled, "Sidney Gerber: Opening Doors Shut Against Blacks in Washington State". He was in the process of finding a publisher for it when he became ill and died. He is survived by his wife, Ida; his sons, Douglas Shaw Palmer, Jr., and his wife, Noriko, Michael Jackson Palmer and his wife, Mary, and Kevin Arthur Palmer; and by Fe Palmer, the surviving wife of another son, Cameron Edward Palmer, who preceded Doug in death. Other survivors are nine grandchildren and four great grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Heart Association, 710 Second Avenue, Suite 900, Seattle, WA 98104. Doug loved to travel, especially to Scotland, where he has many friends. A private service for Doug will be held. He will be deeply missed for his sense of humor and his tolerance for all people. For ten years, he served pro bono as legal advisor for the NAACP.