Lewis B. Palmer

Lewis B. Palmer, 84, of Parker, passed away recently. Survived by his Loving Wife, Ann, Sons, Douglas (JoAnn) Palmer of Albuquerque, NM, Glenn D. (Meriwether) Palmer of Edwards, CO, Brian (Jackie) Palmer of Arvada, CO, 10 Grandchildren, 7 Great-Grandchildren, and Sister, Joan Asbell of New Port Richey, FL. Lew was born on June 26, 1930 in Geneva, NY to J. Darwin and Beatrice Palmer. He graduated from Amherst Central High School in Snyder, NY, a suburb of Buffalo, NY. He attended the University of Michigan, achieving a BS in Civil Engineering in 1952, with a major in railroad design. He got the best job offer from Texaco for assignment to a refinery near Chicago. Lew married Ann Knickerbocker on August 22, 1953, and moved to Aurora, IL for her Med-Tech internship. It didn't take long to tire of Illinois' extreme heat, cold and humidity so they moved to Denver January 1, 1956. Lew joined a major contractor, Stearns-Roger as a draftsman and moved on to Project Manager for small, complex projects. His assignments varied from major refinery upgrades to new technology, and projects with complicated modifications and/or critical timing. He was appointed Vice-President of Stearns-Roger Canada Ltd., based in Calgary, Alberta in July 1976 with instruction to build an Engineering Department for a refinery on the Arctic Ocean. Lew became President in January 1978 just as a Canadian judge deemed the new project would disturb the natives, and cancelled the project. He inherited the management with a small payroll and no backlog. He re-built the Canadian business to 400 staff employees before it merged with Catalytic Ltd. in 1980. He returned to Denver after Stearns-Catalytic merged with United Engineers in 1983. He was Project Manager for construction of a $300M refinery near Kemmerer, Wyoming. Next, he expedited completion and start-up of a nerve gas destruction plant built for the US Army on an island 800 miles west of Hawaii. Lew "retired" from the Stearns organization in 1991. After retirement, Lew worked to preserve and improve old downtown Parker, with zoning changes, and historic building preservation and was instrumental in forming the "Western Victorian" style zoning of Pikes Peak Drive and the new developments in the town center. Lew loved to camp and hike in the mountain west. Prominent family vacations included hikes in the Pacific Cascades, camping at Zion, Arches, Bryce Canyon, a hike across the Grand Canyon, in Yosemite, Yellowstone, climb the Tetons (up to the base), Rocky Mountain National Park, part way up Mt. Elbert, and to various remote canyons in Utah. He planned historic family trips to Civil War and Revolutionary War sites, and was an enthusiastic fan of Colorado and western history, railroads and ghost towns. He was a member of a model railroad club in Parker. He enjoyed overnight train trips in "sleepers" to Los Angeles, Reno, Chicago, Tampa, Albany, Washington, and Portland. He volunteered to take school groups through Castlewood Canyon State Park and was docent for traveling exhibits at Denver Museum of Nature and Science. After moving in 2010, he volunteered at The Wildlife Experience, Parker. Lew was adored by his family. He was an amazing example of faith, patience, wit, wisdom, humility, grace under pressure, common sense and always gave wonderful counsel in times of need. He was a great father always taking his family on historic adventures. Though a busy executive, family was always first priority. A Memorial Service will be held on Friday, July 18, 2014, 3:00 p.m. at Parker Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 9030 Miller Road in Parker. A Reception will follow the Service at the Church. Service Information