Palmer, Delroy John "Mike" 1936 - 2022
PALMER, WINCEK, BUNT, FERRIS, SWANSON, GERES, MITCHELL, PIPPINS
Posted By: Joy Moore (email)
Date: 7/15/2022 at 12:26:51
Delroy “Mike” Palmer, age 85, of Decorah, IA, passed away on Tuesday, July 12, 2022, at Wellington Place in Decorah.
Mass of Christian burial will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, July 15, 2022, at St. Benedict Catholic Church in Decorah with Rev. James Secora presiding. Burial will be in the St. Benedict Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 9:00 a.m. until the time of service at the Church on Friday morning.
Delroy John “Mike” Palmer was born September 24, 1936, in Minneapolis, MN to Gordon and Mary Wincek Palmer. He attended Holy Cross Catholic School and De La Salle High School in Minneapolis, graduating from high school at the La Salle Institute in Glencoe, Missouri, from college at St. Mary’s College in Winona, MN, and graduate work at Loras College, Dubuque, IA. He joined the Christian Brothers in 1954 with the name Brother Johannes Michael (Mike). In his 19 years as a Christian Brother, he taught at De La Salle High School in Chicago, IL, La Salle Institute, Glencoe, MO, and coordinated the organization of a five-parish consolidation and construction of the new Beckman High School in Dyersville, IA. He then served as its first principal.
In November 1973 he was united in marriage with Ruth Bunt in Marcus, IA and they have five children. He served as the high school principal at De La Salle High School in Minneapolis; Dean of Students at Archbishop Brady High School in West St. Paul, MN; Director of Education at Minnesota School of Business, Minneapolis, MN; principal at Don Bosco High School, Gilbertville, IA; and was the first lay principal at Columbus High School, Waterloo, IA.
In his retirement years he was active as a lector and Eucharistic minister at St. Joseph Church in Raymond, IA and St. Benedict Church, Decorah, IA. He. He was a volunteer tutor at Immaculate Conception-St. Joseph School, Gilbertville, IA and delivered Meals on Wheels with the Decorah RSVP for thirteen years. He loved traveling, playing golf, and watching sports, especially when his children and grandchildren were participating or his favorite teams: Iowa Hawkeyes, Minnesota Vikings, and Minnesota Twins. As a former high school Spanish teacher, his love of the language and his time in Guatemala always held a special place in his heart, encouraged in later years by his Guatemalan immigrant friends.
Mike lived his faith in his vocation as a loving husband and father and in his lifelong career in Catholic education. He is survived by his wife Ruth and their five children: Kevin Palmer (friend Janna Windsperger) Good Thunder, MN; Beth (Brian) Ferris, Kansas City, MO; Sarah Palmer (friend Jen Butterfass), Chaska, MN; Mark (Stacy) Palmer, Waverly MN; Anne Palmer, Decorah, IA; Grandchildren: Alexa, Mack, and Isaac Ferris; Ryan, Zach, and Reese Palmer; Jaden, Carsen, and Grace Palmer. Special cousins, Lorraine Swanson, Farmington, MN and Sister Jean Ann Wincek, Minneapolis; brothers and sisters-in-law, Phyllis Geres, Tucson, AZ, Jim & Kathy Bunt, Spirit Lake, IA, LaVonne Bunt, St. Paul, MN, Harold & Barb Bunt, Georgetown, KY, Lois Mitchell, Arvada, CO, Mike & Ginny Bunt, Cherokee, IA, and Pat & Norene Bunt, Marcus, IA.
He was preceded in death by parents, Gordon and Mary Palmer, father and mother-in-law, Clinton and Agnes Bunt, brothers-in-law, David Bunt, Michael Mitchell and Fred Geres, and nieces, Mary Geres and Laura Geres Pippins.
Memorials may be given in memory of Mike Palmer to Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Dubuque.
Source: Helms Funeral Home database
St. Benedict Cemetery
Winneshiek Obituaries maintained by Jeff Getchell.
WebBBS 4.33 Genealogy Modification Package by WebJourneymen