Sylvester Adolphus Palmer

Our beloved Sylvester Palmer was born on the beautiful island of Jamaica on February 8, 1936 to Gilbert and Edith. At an early age, his mother Edith taught him to love Jehovah and he was bap zed as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses on October 5, 1952.

In his very early years Sylvester met his future wife Eileen at the Kingdom Hall.

He moved from Jamaica to London, England in 1962. There under the tutorship of his brother he acquired his lifelong professional skills as a painter.

Eileen also ended up in London, England and their love for each other blossomed into marriage on June

30, 1962. Their inseparable love, true and las ng, proved to be a beau ful example to all, for over 60 years.

Sylvester and Eileen had two lovely daughters, Judy( husband, Jon) and Sandra. Later, they would

become grandparents to Dane(wife, Jen) as well as Jordan and Jessi. And also great-grandparents to Lily. All of whom could feel how much PaPa loved them. They especially remember him for his humor. He loved to laugh and make others laugh with him by saying silly things like don’t get your knickers in a

twist, or you need to eat or drink that as it will put hair on your chest!

In addi on to his children, Sylvester Palmer leaves behind his brother Ransford(and wife Myrtle), nieces Marie and Melissa(and husband Linton), nephew Paul(and wife Beth), great-nephews Kieron(and wife Iria) and Joel, and great-nieces Yasmine and Nia.

He was preceded in death by his parents Gilbert and Edith.

Sylvester’s 70 years of faithful service to his heavenly Father Jehovah was central to all he did. His love for Jehovah was exhibited powerfully in the way he loved the congrega on and even strangers in the street. If you ever had the privilege of going anywhere with him, you may recall having to stop and look behind you because he would have started a conversa on with someone everywhere he went. Errands took twice as long but this was what filled him with joy any chance he got. He truly wanted to know people, where they were from, what their stories were, and this o en opened up an opportunity to share knowledge of his best friend, Jehovah.

Somehow, he always knew when someone was baking a cake and he would “happen” to pop by to say hello, at just the right me. He loved his sweets and fondly recalled the lovely treats like poppy seed cake, carrot cake, and fruit pies he enjoyed through the years.

Sylvester served for many years as an elder in numerous congrega ons and he leaves behind a stellar example of a wholehearted shepherd of his brothers and sisters in the faith. Many can recall how he helped them personally, either spiritually or emo onally, during various trials and ailments and the comfort he brought through his warm hugs and kind words. His desire to help and strengthen his friends extended right up un l the end. His favorite scripture was Phil 4:8: “Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are of serious concern, whatever things are righteous, whatever things are chaste, whatever things are lovable, whatever things are well spoken of, whatever things are virtuous, and whatever things are praiseworthy, con nue considering these things.”

His life truly embodied the values in this scripture. Even now, we can hear him encouraging us to exert ourselves vigorously, to be generous in our worship of Jehovah, and to tell everyone and anyone you can about the life to come.

And as he would say when he was about to leave somewhere, “When you don’t see me, I’m gone.” We look forward to seeing our Papa and Brother again, in the very near future.

A memorial service for Sylvester will be held Saturday, July 23, 2022 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM at Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, 1913 Trawick Road, Raleigh, NC 27604.