Obituary: Betty Jean “Jeannie” Palmer

Betty Jean “Jeannie” Palmer, 95 years of Ashland, Missouri, formerly of Carson, Iowa, passed away on Monday, April 8, 2024, at The Neighborhoods by Tiger Place, in Columbia, Missouri.

Jeannie was born on December 12, 1928, in Kinglsey, Iowa the daughter of Ruth Collins and Ray Richardson. Betty Jean was cared for in her formative years by her maternal grandparents, Ambery and Bertha Collins, and her parents, Ruth Collins Holmes and Francis Holmes. On May 23, 1948, she married Gayle Wayne Palmer in Creston, Iowa and he preceded her in death in March of 1987.

Jeannie graduated from Macedonia High School in 1946 in Macedonia, Iowa. She appeared in numerous school plays, lettered in basketball, excelled scholastically and graduated Salutatorian of her class. She attended church at Macedonia Methodist Church where she and her grandparents were custodians. Upon graduation from high school Jeannie secured employment in an office in Council Bluffs, Iowa and quickly learned she wasn’t interested in office work. She returned to her hometown to serve others in the restaurant in downtown Carson, Iowa. Gayle and Jeannie were blessed with two children and moved to Emden, Missouri in 1960. Their children attended a one-room country school. Gayle raised pigs, cows, and chickens on their 40-acre farm while operating his own blacksmithing business. Jeannie worked during this time as an apprentice in an upholstering refinishing shop in Monroe City, Missouri. Jeannie was a member of the American Legion Auxiliary, the BW Club, and the Methodist Church.

In 1968, when both children graduated from high school, Gayle and Jeannie moved to Burlington, Iowa. During those years Jeannie drove a forklift in an Army Ammunition plant and performed mass production for General Electric Corporation. When Gayle passed away in 1987, Jeannie “went solo,” moved back to Carson, Iowa and made herself a home and a happy life. Jeannie enjoyed quilting, sewing, crafts, playing cards, spending time with her friends, and serving others. Her failing health took her to live with her daughter in Ashland, Missouri in 2018.

She will be sadly missed and forever remembered by her daughter, Leslie and her husband Richard Anderson of Ashland, Missouri; her sisters, Colleen and Jacquelin and a younger brother; three grandsons, Eric Michael, Gayle Gene, and Zachariah, all from Burlington, Iowa; three great grandchildren, Michael Wayne, Kaitlin Lynette, and Abbigail Lyn.

A memorial service will be held at a later date at the Carson United Methodist Church in Carson, Iowa with interment in the Carson Cemetery, following the service. A time of fellowship will be held immediately following at the Carson Community Center with lunch provided by the Woman’s American Legion Auxiliary.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are suggested to the Macedonia United Methodist Church, c/o Robinson-Yager Funeral Home, PO Box 68, Ashland, MO 65010.

Robinson-Yager Funeral Home is honored to serve the Palmer Family.