Kelley Palmer

1933 - 2018

KELLEY NEIL PALMER Kelley was born in Stratton, Nebraska to Walter and Ann Palmer on March 10, 1933. His family moved and he grew up and went to school in McCook, NE. He was the eldest of five children. After graduating from McCook High School he went to work for the Bureau of Land Management as a surveyor. Shortly thereafter he was drafted into the Army and went to Korea. After his discharge he and his brother Jerry went to attend Northrup Tech. in Inglewood, CA where he received his A & E license. The US Air Force hired him and he went to work for the Air Force at Edwards AFB Rocket Site in the Mojave Desert as an experimental rocket engine tester. He also worked in experimental rocket fuels. He worked there 33 years and after retirement he did a short stint working on the B-2 bomber for Boeing in Palmdale, CA. He was an outstanding dirt bike rider as he had plenty of desert to ride in. He and his son Walter spent many a weekend riding and hunting ducks. He took up trapshooting in 1970 after his brother Mickey introduced him to the sport. We figured we have each shot about 500,000 targets. He has 150,000 registered with the ATA. He and Sunny traveled all over the western United States attending numerus shoots. In his younger days he was quite a bowler, bowling 5 nights a week until he injured his back. He was a life member of the NRA, Tacoma Sportsman Club and McCord Sportsman Club. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Sunny, two children, son, Walter and daughter, Keely Knight (Jim), and four wonderful grandchildren, Ray (30), Taylor (28), Bobby (25) and Lucy (21). He passed away 3 days after our 56th anniversary. He is survived by 2 brothers, Jerry and Mickey. His sister Susan and brother Mac (James) predeceased him. He died of pancreatic cancer on July 10, 2018 at home under the care of his wife and children, one month after being diagnosed. Services are at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Catholic Church 14601 A St Tacoma at 11:00am, reception to follow at Tacoma Sportsman Club 16409 Canyon Rd, Puyallup.