Shirley M. Palmer

Shirley M. Palmer, age 83, of Johnson, Kansas, died Thursday, April 18, 2019, at Stanton County Long Term Care Unit in Johnson, Kansas. She was born October 17, 1935, in Hooker, Oklahoma, the daughter of Harry Amos and Beulah Idel (Grounds) Thrall.

Shirley graduated from Rolla High School and attended Panhandle State University. She married Wendell Addison Palmer on January 7, 1955, in Guymon, Oklahoma. Shirley was a very talented and ambitious lady. She could do anything from baking cinnamon rolls to building fence. Shirley was a teller and proof room supervisor for over 20 years at a bank in Guymon, drove truck across country, was a flag lady for a highway crew, worked in the medial records department at the hospital in Johnson, and was a rural mail carrier until the age of 76 when she retired. Shirley was an accomplished artist in painting and drawing. Some of her hobbies included making jewelry, ceramics, photography, dancing, and listening to country music. Her passions included riding horses and spending time outdoors. Shirley was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Johnson.

Shirley is survived by one son; Kent Palmer and wife Rae of Colorado; one daughter, Gay Whetstone and husband Gary of Garden City; sister, Karen Brown of Gainesville, Virginia, step-sister, Veda Bressler, step-brother, Terry Dibble and wife Lana, and Don Dibble and wife Mary; and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

She is preceded in death by her parents; husband Wendell; son, Douglas Addison Palmer; and brother, Clifton Thrall.

Memorial service will be Tuesday, April 23, 2019, at 10:00 AM at the First United Methodist Church in Johnson, Kansas with Reverend Richard Fitzgerald officiating. Inurnment will be at the Barton Cemetery at a later date. Memorials may be given to the St. Jude Children’s Hospital in care of Garnand Funeral Home, PO Box 715, Johnson, Kansas 67855.