Curtis Everett PALMER, Sr.

PALMER, FLAGE, BECK, WILSTE, HAMMOND, SHEDENHELM, LEIRAN, HASTERT

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 10/22/2008 at 10:08:19

Wright County Monitor, Clarion, Iowa
October 16, 2008

Funeral services for Curtis E. Palmer, Sr. of Harpers Ferry, formerly of Clarion, were held October 9, 2008 at Rossville Presbyterian Church. Curtis Palmer died October 6, 2008. Burial was at IOOF Cemetery in Rossville. Curtis Everett Palmer, Sr. was born November 17, 1927 in the family's home outside of Rossville, the son of Everett and Laura (Flage) Palmer. He attended rural Allamakee country schools and Waterville High School. Curtis completed his high school education while serving in the U.S. Navy. In 1947 he served aboard the U.S. Edisto on an expedition in the Antarctic. On June 1, 1949 he married Arlene Beck at the Methodist Church in Waterloo. With the help of the GI Bill and his wife, Curtis graduated from Upper Iowa University with a degree in business. He taught high school business classes in several schools through out Iowa for a couple of years. Curtis went to work with his father selling Occo Feed in Northeast Iowa. In 1961 he started his own feed company in Greenfield, which branched out into Palco Manufacturing in Belle Plaine and Clarion. Curtis developed several innovation inventions that resulted in advances in livestock equipment. Palco equipment was sold throughout the world and received several awards for its impact on manufacturing and agriculture. Curtis and Arlene moved to Harpers Ferry in 1997. He was a member of the United Methodist Church in Belle Plaine and the Harpers Ferry American Legion. Curtis loved spending time with his family especially his grandchildren. He also enjoyed traveling, collecting coins and spending time in the outdoors on his farm.

Survivors include his four daughters: Susan Palmer of Camarillo, California; Dana (Meg Wilste) Palmer of Evansville, Wisconsin; Rebecca (Jon Hammond) Palmer of Cedar Rapids; and Crystal (Kevin) Shedenhelm of Denver, Iowa; five grandchildren, three brothers: Stanley Palmer of Harpers Ferry, Neal Palmer of Waukon, and Allan (Patricia) of Monona; two sisters, Joan (Richard) Leiran of Waukon, and Judy (Charles) Hastert of Green Bay, Wisconsin. He is preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Arlene on February 5, 2008; and a son, Curtis Palmer Jr.