Obituary of HOWARD MILTON PALMER

It is with great sadness that the family announce the passing of Howard Palmer on Friday January 5th, 2024 at the age of 92.

Howard is survived by his wife Marina of 58 years, son Kevin (Maria), grandchildren Kevin (Stephanie), Jessica, Vanessa (Kyle), great granddaughter Vivian, as well as cousins, nieces and nephews in Canada and the U.S. He was predeceased by his parents Marie and Howard Sr. and his brother Vernon.

Howard was born in Baltimore, Maryland on December 3, 1931. At a young age, Howard was interested in airplanes and how they worked. Because of the lack of opportunity for black youth in the early 1950’s, Howard decided to join the Airforce at the age of 20. He saw it as an opportunity to help support his mother and have a career with the military. He was technically inclined which enabled him to achieve a position as an electrician with the Airforce specializing in radar.

During his military career, he had several postings…2 of which took him and his family to Columbus, Ohio and Ramstein, Germany near the end of his career. While stationed in Europe, he made important improvements to a General Electric electronic diagnostic device that is used for aircraft maintenance, that earned his 2 awards for ingenuity. That achievement, in turn, earned him an invitation to join the General Electric Company in California once he retired.

Howard met Marina and her young son Kevin while he was stationed in Grand Forks, North Dakota in the early 1960’s. Howard and Marina married in August of 1965.

Howard retired from the U.S. Airforce in 1971 and after considering the offer to work for G.E., he made the decision to move to Winnipeg with his family because Marina’s family lived there and he thought it was a good place to raise a family.

Howard enjoyed his retirement by doing home renovations and tinkering with machinery. He loved reading! He would spend hours reading mostly technical books and magazines. He was always interested in current affairs. In the mid 1970’s, he even decided to go back to school – to the University of Winnipeg – and obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Philosophy.

Howard loved his family very much and enjoyed spending time with them, especially with the grandchildren and most recently with his great granddaughter Vivian. He was a life-long teacher to his son and grandchildren, sharing his knowledge and ideas.

Howard was always willing to help extended family members in their time of need, whether it was just for helpful information or for practical issues. He was always ready to lend a hand with electrical or plumbing projects or any other fix-up jobs that needed doing.

He would occasionally return to Maryland to visit and spend some time “catching up” with the family he had there.

Howard was an active member of the Vietnam Veterans Association in Winnipeg for much of his retirement. He enjoyed the club meetings and social functions. He held several positions in the club – one being Vice President and another – the Sargeant of Arms for a period of time.

Howard was admitted into Seven Oaks Hospital at the end of November 2023 and sadly passed away January 5th, 2024 due to health complications.

The family will miss his stories about his Airforce days and life experiences.

The family wishes to thank the health care staff at Seven Oaks Hospital for their compassionate care during Howard’s hospitalization. Thank you to Pastor Marietta Searge for officiating the service, and to family for all their prayers and support during this difficult time. Thank you to the Pallbearers for their love and support.

Interment will be at Brookside Cemetery and all are invited back for a luncheon here at Cropo.