Funeral services for Athelene Cox Palmer, age 91, of Gadsden, will be at 2:00 p.m. Monday, May 20, 2019 at Collier-Butler Funeral Home. Visitation will be Sunday from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. Stanley Freeman and Joel Williams will officiate. Burial will be at Crestwood Cemetery. Collier-Butler Funeral and Cremation Services is directing.
Mrs. Palmer was a native and life-long resident of Etowah County. She started her life journey with the love of her life, Clayton Neal Palmer. Together they raised three children.
For fifteen years, she was a telephone operator at Southern Bell/ AT&T. She left that position to raise her children and to assist her husband in selling carpet at Gadsden Rug Mart. This adventure spurred her to pursue her other love, that of crafting. By the 1970’s, she turned Gadsden Rug Mart into G.R.M. Crafts. With the help of her husband, this little craft shop became Gadsden’s first, largest and oldest craft and hobby shop. She loved all types of crafts and projects to make and teach to others. By far her favorite was that of jewelry making. She had three books published, two of which were co-written with her daughter Elessa, on jewelry making. She was a life-long member of the Church of Christ and attended the Attalla Church of Christ. Her love of our God and Savior was reflected in every aspect of her life. She was a very giving and loving Christian woman. She always put everyone else’s needs before her own. She loved her kids and grandchildren. She was an excellent cook, homemaker and loving wife, sister and mother. She was a fighter until the end. She overcame breast cancer but, Parkinsons Disease was relentless. She never complained and always had a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye.
She is preceded in death by her parents, Amy and will cox; sisters and brother in laws, Gerladine (Carl) Mintz and Edna (Leighton) Sessions.
She is survived by her children, Billy (Nena) Palmer, Elessa Palmer, Amyotha (Byron) Turner; grandchildren, Jessica (Neo) Palmer Voss, Will (Angel) Palmer, Tiffany (Derick) Dodson, Seth Palmer, and Hannah (Austin) Handy.
Pallbearers will be Derick Dodson, Will Palmer, Seth Palmer, and Billy Palmer.
Honorary Pallbearers are the staff of Amedysis Hospice and Austin Handy.
Special thanks to Amedysis Hospice, Lacey Dorough, Meghan Kerr, Brittany Storey, Jennifer Haney, and Joel Williams.
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