Carl Palmer

Carl Robert Palmer, 81, of Brady, died Monday, July

7, 2008, in Brady.

A memorial service was held at 3 p.m. Friday, July

11, at Leatherwood Memorial Chapels in Brady.

Carl was born June 17, 1927, on Brush Creek Ranch

north of Dillon, Colo., Summit County, in the Blue

River Valley. He was born to pioneer parents, Archie

Roderick Whitehead Palmer and Christina Marie

Bach. He grew up at the family ranch homesteaded

by his father.

Carl attended Slate Creek School which was a one-

room schoolhouse. To get to school, he and his

brothers and sisters rode horseback, two bobsled in

the winter or a buggy in the spring, sometimes at

35 degrees below zero.

Carl's father, along with ranching, had a blacksmith

shop in the old town of Dillon, Colo., where he took

Carl at a very young age to "the Shop." Carl talked

about standing on a bucket hour after hour turning

the handle on the forge.

His dad had a contract to sharpen the drill bits that

were used when they built Loveland Pass Road over

the mountain. Carl said they had to be sharpened

and ready the next morning for use on the road,

drilling and blasting out the rock for the road. He

started irrigating the home ranch at a very early

age, eventually worked at the neighboring Knorr

Brothers Ranch, Enyeart place and Moser place.

Carl went to Nebraska to work for his uncle, William

J. Bach, building small check dams/earth-water

dams. Here he met his wife-to-be, Bessie June

Dumright. They were married Dec. 17, 1949, and of

this union, three daughters were born, Peggy Lee,

Shirley Ann and Susan Elaine.

Carl was a Korean War veteran. When he returned

from the Army, Carl and Bessie moved to Loveland,

Colo., where he became a certified mechanic under

the G.I. Bill and worked for Marley Motors. After his

father passed away, they moved back to the

homestead in Summit County, Colo. and raised

cattle. He was a rancher and a businessman. He had

many side businesses in town.

At the time, Dillon lake and dam were being built,

and in approximately 1963 he moved the family to

Silverthorne where he built the house on Ptarmigan

mountain. He and his brother, Russell, ran a full-

service garage in Silverthorne, Colo., the town

which was created from houses built by Clayton Hill

and relocated businesses from the old town of

Dillon. He owned and operated the Continental Oil

Company bulk plant in Silverthorne and started the

Blue Valley Propane Company. They also operated

the Frisco Conoco.

Carl contracted the branch post office for

Silverthorne out of Dillon as the clerk in charge.

Silverthorne could now be on the map. He built the

two-story building that housed the post office and

upper level apartment. His brother Russell and he

started the Palmer Laundromat that was run by the

families. He was an established businessman in the

Middle Park area.

Carl supported young people. He was a 4-H leader,

auctioneer, rodeo announcer, instrumental in

building the first rodeo and roping arena in

Silverthorne, Colo., he was a team roper and talked

with love about his old sorrel roping horse. He

drove a school bus, was an experienced mechanic

and, as he said it, "plowed a lot of snow with my

ole' yellow jeep."

In addition to his success as a businessman, the

Summit County School District recognized his

mechanical and landscaping abilities and hired Carl

as their bus barn superintendent and general

summer maintenance contractor. He not only kept

the buses on the road but also drove on field trips.

He couldn't ever sit around so he was involved in

getting the landscaping in, the blacktop poured, the

tennis courts and the swimming pool installed. In

the winter Carl would make sure the roads were

plowed and in the summer the lawns stayed green.

When he retired from the school district, he moved

to the front range near Berthoud, Colo. where he

worked as a landscaper and worked for Larimer

County as a ditch rider. Warmer weather beckoned

and he and his long-time friend and soon-to-be-

wife, Berneice (Bunny), moved to Brady where they

bought acreage, were married and raised goats and

enjoyed the weather and their children and

grandchildren.

Preceding him in death were his parents; brothers

Isaac, Archie and Russell Palmer; sisters, Sarah

Palmer, Marie Hunter and Elsie Graham. Carl was

the remaining member in his immediate family.

He is survived by his ex-wife, Bessie June Burr and

wife and long-time friend, Berniece Motz Palmer;

daughters, Peggy Watkins and husband, James J. of

Fort Lupton, Colo. and Comanche, Shirley Strom-

Blanchard and husband, Robert Kimball Blanchard

of Katy, and Sue Ford and husband, Bruce of

Kersey, Colo.; and grandchildren, Toni Watkins

Mardis and husband, Jimmy, Teri Watkins, Adrienne

Strom, Serena Strom, Royce Ford, Courtney Ford

and Sydney Blanchard and great-grandchildren,

Joshua Mardis and Rachel Mardis.

Memorial contributions may be made to the

McCulloch County Jr. Livestock Association and/or

V.F.W. Post #3234.

Letter to Editor (Online Op-Ed)