Henry "Hank" Palmer

PALMER, Henry C. Sr., "Hank", 93, passed away peacefully at his home, Monday, January 14, 2013. Hank was a WWII Navy pilot, taking part in the Pacific battles of Leyte Gulf and Midway, a master mechanic, commercial pilot, restorer of antique automobiles and airplanes, and devoted husband and father. He was married to Mary Elizabeth Harrington Palmer for 56 years until her passing in January, 2008. He is survived by his five children, Henry Cary Palmer, Jr. "Cary", Treasure Island; Betty Anne Beavers (Tim), Plantation; Bill Palmer (Patti), Old Town, Fla.; Charlie Palmer, Tampa; and Shelley Manes (David), St. Pete; 5 grandchildren, Will and Austin Palmer, Justin and Alexanne Beavers, and Cody Brady, and a wide and loving family of nieces, nephews and cousins. Hank was a native of Huntington, West Virginia, and followed his parents to St. Petersburg after high school in 1937. He made the trip in a Model T Ford with his own tools in the backseat. His first stop in St. Pete: Albert Whitted Airport where he landed a job as a lineboy, learning everything he could about planes and flying, and starting his pilot training. He became a mechanic for Florida Airways, joined the Navy in 1940, which he said was the very best flight training a fellow could get, and after the war returned to St. Pete where he ran a seaplane base near the Corey Causeway, back when it was just a wooden bridge. He married Mary Elizabeth in 1951, and started their family on Boca Ciega Isle, moving to Coffeepot Bayou in Old Northeast as the family expanded. Hank flew C-46 cargo planes for Aero Sud Americana to destinations in Cuba, Central and South America, owned a furniture stripping business, toured the US with his "Bonnie & Clyde Car" exhibit, piloted air ambulance charters, and spent his spare time flying over St. Pete or cruising around Tampa Bay in one of his unique, home-built sea-faring vessels. Raising five children never deterred Hank from his hobbies: an aficionado of all things powered by steam, he restored antique Stanley Steamer automobiles, designed and built steam-powered boats, motorcycles, bikes and tools. His favorite planes were WWI bi- and tri-planes, which he collected in deplorable condition, and with great attention to detail and authenticity, restored both bodies and engines to flying condition. He helped build the Benoist replica hanging in the St. Petersburg Historical Museum, and built many experimental aircraft, including the "Sunshine Clipper," an aluminum fishing boat fitted with biplane wings, and retractable wheels as well as pontoons, suitable for runway and water landings, and it had a lawnchair for its pilot seat. Hank donated the Sunshine Clipper to the Sun & Fun Museum in Lakeland, where it remains a very popular exhibit. Over the years he made several treks to Oshkosh, Wisconsin for the International Fly-in, and to the Sun & Fun Fly-in in Lakeland, sometimes providing one of the most curious specimens on the field. He exhibited the Sunshine Clipper, his Fokker Tri-plane, and a 1927 Curtiss Fledgling biplane. Hank was very proud to have two of his restorations, the 1917 Fokker tri-plane and 1927 Curtiss Fledgling bi-plane, acquired by Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome in Rhinebeck, New York, where they are still flown in melodramatic airshows. Hank had some memorable "landings" over the decades, most memorably splashing down hard into Tampa Bay, just offshore from Whitted in 1968, when the engine fell out of his 1929 Fleet biplane. In his retirement years, Hank was an FAA maintenance inspector. When Hank got his hands on his first computer, already a competent typist but a novice to word processing, he immediately typed out his memoirs from his days in the Navy, and then wrote his own obituary, which closed with this typical Hank quip: "Although Henry did consider himself something of a yachtsman, he wanted it known that he was never a member of the St. Petersburg Yacht Club." The Palmer family is grateful for the assistance of Hospice Suncoast, and to the very special aides who helped care for Hank in the last chapter of his life, Roberta Quesnell, Sharon Reynolds and Gina Baribault. Hank will to his family and friends always be an example of a life well-charted. He will be sorely missed by all who were lucky enough to have known him. Arrangements are as follows on Friday, January 18 at Anderson-McQueen Funeral Home (727) 347-6636: 9:30-11 a.m. Visitation; 11a.m. Service; 12:15 Burial at Memorial Park Cemetery. All are invited to The Beacon on Third Community Room (470 3rd Street S) following the burial, 1:15 -3 p.m. to share some lunch and more telling of the many escapades of Hank's long life.