Willie Lee Palmer

Mr. Willie Lee Palmer went home to be with the Lord on April 25, 2020. He was the youngest of two children born to his parents, Mr. Charlie and Ms. Charlotte Palmer in Montgomery, AL. After high school, Mr. Palmer was drafted into the U.S. Army in November 1945. After a short stint in the Army, he was honorably discharged and went on to later attend Tuskegee Institute.

While attending college, Mr. Palmer worked a number of jobs; such as: shoe salesman, dry cleaning, and lunch room server. After college he taught school and eventually started his career with the U.S. Postal Service. During this time he married and started a family. Due to the Montgomery Postal Service downsizing, Mr. Palmer was transferred to the Birmingham Post Office to continue his career. He subsequently retired after more than 40 years of faithful service in 1995.

Willie Palmer, known from childhood as Simon and sometimes "Chuck" had a flare for colorful dress, sporty caps, and wide brimmed hats! He loved people and was very sociable in his neighborhood "Block Club" and throughout his community.

Mr. Palmer was an active participant in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. As one of the few blacks that owned a car in his community, he transported a number of people to their destination or as close as possible. The way Mr. Palmer put it, "I never asked nobody to pay. If they had something, they gave me a donation; if they didn't, they could still ride. Back then, he said, "everybody helped each other."

Mr. Palmer's religious conversion, took place in Montgomery, AL at New Hope Baptist Church. After moving to Birmingham, he joined First Memorial Baptist Church, where he was an active leader in the church Sunday School and Vacation Bible School.

His lineage includes, his mother, Ms. Charlotte Palmer; beloved grandmother, Ms. Amanda Pickett; older sister, Jerri Palmer; daughter, Annie Vernice Palmer Daniel; all of which preceded him in death. His granddaughters, Corinthian Denise Daniel and Candace Vera Elizabeth Daniel; one great granddaughter, Sophia Grace Daniel; a cousin, Rev. W. C. Coleman (Doretha), all of Montgomery, AL; and close friend and primary caretaker, Victoria (Vicki) J. Lewis; and his FMBC family and friends from Birmingham, AL.

A visitation will be held on Saturday, May 2, 2020 from 1:00 pm to 1:45 pm at Elmwood Chapel Funeral Home. Subsequently his Celebration of Life service will follow at graveside at 2:00 pm at Elmwood Cemetery. Due to the concerns surrounding Covid-19, and in compliance with city & county ordinances gatherings of 10 or more are prohibited and social distance is required. Please feel free to add your fond memories and expressions of sympathy on our website, at www.johnsridoutselmwoodchapel.com for the Palmer family. The service will be live streamed on our Facebook page at 2pm on Saturday at the link below.

https://www.facebook.com/RidoutsElmwood/ click to like and a notification will be sent when the service goes live.