Horace Dale Palmatier of Goodyear, AZ passed away on February 25, 2011, with his loving wife, Marilyn by his side. Dale was 85. He was born in Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. on December 27, 1925 to Horace Potter Palmatier and Mina Palmatier. When Dale was very young, in 1932, his father died of a broken neck when he struck bottom of Silver Lake near Wild Rose, Wis, after diving off a water wheel. Consequently, Dale's life was shaped by the hardships of the great depression of the 1930s and the uncertainties brought on by the 2nd World War.
In 1942, he graduated from Port Edwards High School (Wis.) and entered service in the U.S. Navy. After training at the Naval Station Great Lakes, Dale was stationed at the University of Michigan where he studied naval architecture. He completed his undergraduate studies in electrical engineering at the University of Wisconsin (UW), in Madison, Wis in 1948; and returned to add a law degree in 1952.
It was at UW where he met Marilyn Hanson of Viroqua, Wis. on a blind date, and they wed in 1953. For their honeymoon, they traveled for 3 months in Europe where they stayed in hostels, rode bikes, carried rucksacks, and attended summer school in Olso, Norway.
Dale was a patent attorney in Minneapolis, Minn. for 42 years and advised many well-known Minnesota and international companies and litigated on behalf of them. In this role, he worked on inventions, trademarks, patents, copyrights, computer law, unfair competition, and trade secrets.
The Palmatier family resided in Victoria, Minn on a gentleman‘s ranch, the Circle R Farm, denoted with the brand “® .”
For most of his life, Dale sang in church choirs, taught Sunday School and served the community in many ways. In the 1960s, Dale was elected to two terms to the Victoria School District board, and served as chairman until the merger with the Chaska district and the closure of his four children's school, Victoria Elementary.
He was appointed as a charter member and served 14 years on the Minnehaha Watershed District Board.
Dale was elected to Victoria's city council, and later upon the unexpected resignation of the newly elected mayor, served one term as mayor of Victoria. As mayor, the city encountered a strike by the city's only employee, which attracted SEIU union picketing in front of the Palmatier's residence.
Dale was an avid horseman who was reputed to ride his horse on trails in the Minnesota River bottoms from "sunup-to-sundown." Dale also volunteered with the Carver County 4-H horse program, and was asked to judge horse shows throughout Minnesota. He owned quarter horses including a stallion named Doc's Mercedes, and several mares that delivered their foals at the ® farm on Smithtown Road. Dale rode his horse with the Carver County Sheriffs Mounted Posse rising to the rank of captain; in the 1970s, the Posse was called on many times to search for missing persons, round up stray cattle, perform crowd control, and represent Carver County in numerous parades. On one occasion, they responded to buffalo that were on the loose in western Carver County. In the late 1980s, Dale and Marilyn developed their horse property into a residential development, now known as Sunny Shadows.
In retirement, Dale and Marilyn moved to the Pebble Creek development in Goodyear, Ariz. where Dale became passionate about oil painting, playing the recorder, golfing with friends, singing with the Pebble Creek Singers, and numerous social activities. The Palmatier home in Goodyear overlooked a golf course, including a Par Aide ball washing device of which he wrote the U.S. patent.
In addition to his beloved wife of 57 years, Dale is survived by their children: James, Itasca, Illinois; Jane Gharbi, Chaska, Minn.; Jill (Mike) Klehr, Goodyear; John (Susan), St. Louis Park, Minn; 5 grandchildren: Amir (Carolin), Jimmy, Katelyn, Alex, and Joey; plus, one great-granddaughter, Michelle.
Dale is also survived by his mother-in-law, Freda Hanson, 100, of Platteville, Wis.
Dale will be missed by his Airedale dog, Tommy, who loved to go on long walks and ride in the golf cart.
Dale is preceded in death by his siblings Francois, and Lucile.
Dale’s mother, Mina, worked for the U.S. Post Office until her retirement, at age 70. Dale’s father, Horace, is a 1913 graduate of the University of Wisconsin. The Badger yearbook shows that his nickname was “Pamuch” and that he enjoyed his shop classes. Horace joined the U.S. Army in 1917 and drove Harley Davidson motorcycles in France during the First World War, and rose to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. After the war, he returned to his job in Wisconsin Rapids, Wis, as an electrical engineer.
Dale is also preceded in death by his grandfather Francis, Jr. who met a tragic death on August 14, 1892 when he was burned to death while asleep in the rear room in the Clark and Scott store building in Rudolph, Wisconsin.
Dale Palmatier’s great-grandfather, Francis, veteran of the Civil War, passed away on May 14, 1920 at the age of 94. Francis’ obituary published in the Wisconsin Rapids Daily, described him, like Dale Palmatier, as “bright and cheerful.” Francis’s obituary also explained that his grandfather “was a native of Paris and belonged to a class who fell into difficulties with the commoners on account of wealth and aristocratic position and fled to Holland.” Eventually the Palmatiers settled on the Holland Patent in the State of New York, where they engaged in agriculture. During the Civil War, Francis’ traveled though Kentucky, Tennesee, and Alabama with Company B of the 46th Wisconsin regiment. Four of Francis’ brothers were in the service, enlisting from Michigan, two of them sacrificing their lives: Almeron Palmatier, killed in action at the battle of Antietam in 1862; and, William H. Palmatier, who died in Rome Georgia August 20, 1864. Dale Palmatier’s grandmother, Minne Potter Palmatier was active in the Daughters of the American Revolution in their hometown, Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.
Funeral services will be held March 1 at 10:30 am at The Church of Litchfield Park, 300 North Old Litchfield Rd, Litchfield Park, AZ 85340. Donations may be made to Hospice Of The Valley.
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