Jesse Palmer

Jesse Leon Palmer, 70, of Summerville, S.C., died Tuesday, March 1, 2005, at his home.

He was born Jan. 16, 1935, in Cape Girardeau, son of Jess O. and Ellia Ethel Link Palmer. He married Mary Elizabeth Howard.

Palmer attended Juden School in Cape Girardeau. He was a champion race car driver in Sikeston, Mo., and Cape Girardeau.

He moved to Summerville in 1978, where he retired in 1992 as a head refrigeration mechanic from Wetterau Corp.

Survivors include his wife; three sons, Raymond Kimbrel of North Charleston, S.C., Jesse Palmer of Summerville, Thomas Palmer of Moncks Corner, S.C.; four daughters, Garlett Avery of Suffolk, Va., Debra Lynch of Benton, Mo., Susan Armstrong of New Albany, Miss., Amanda Chinners of Summerville; a brother, William Palmer of Bakersfield, Calif.; a sister, Gerri Perry of Victorville, Calif.; 12 grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents, three brothers and a sister.

A graveside service will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at Dorchester Memory Gardens in Summerville.

James A. Dyal Funeral Home in Summerville is in charge of arrangements.