Harvey Leon Palmer

Harvey "Leon" Palmer, age 78, passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loving & adoring family, at his home, in Taylor, AZ on February 8, 2018. He was born on March 27, 1939 at his Grandad and Grandma Hancock's home, just two blocks from his present home in Taylor, to his parents, Harvey & Vera Hancock Palmer. Leon had a childhood that every boy dreams of. Because of his father's employment, the family moved a lot, living in Taylor, Winslow, Gallup, Los Alamos, Williams & San Diego. The highlight of his young life was spending summers with cousins & extended family in sheep camps & cattle ranches, riding horses, having burro races, and learning how to work. So many lasting memories were made. He started school in Taylor and finished in Snowflake, graduating from Snowflake Union High School, as Senior Class President in 1957. He then attended Eastern Arizona College. On March 20, 1959 Leon married Gloria Ann Solomon, in the Mesa Arizona Temple. She was the love of his life and they enjoyed almost 59 years together. To their union was added two daughters & three sons, 26 grandchildren & 27 great-grandchildren. Leon was a hardworking man. He was always the first one to work and the last one to leave. He started working right out of high school for his Uncle Belton Palmer, at his accounting office in Show Low. That was the beginning of many, years of being a bookkeeper and working with numbers & finances. He worked in banking for 26 years. He was instrumental in opening the first bank on the Navajo Nation, as he lived & worked in Window Rock for 2 years.  He was the finance manager for Hall Ford in Holbrook & Reidhead Sand & Rock in Taylor.  At one point he decided that he wanted to get out from behind a desk so he went into a partnership as co-owner with his good friend, Stewart Lewis, in a pig farm north of Snowflake.  He really enjoyed that, working alongside his sons and teaching them the work ethic that he lived by his entire life.  Some of the many things he accomplished during his 7 years as Taylor Town Manager was obtaining the nearly 6000 seat bleachers for the Taylor Rodeo Grounds and bringing new businesses into town.  Many of his co-workers & fellow employees have expressed that "he was the best boss they ever had!" During Income Tax season, he figured taxes for hundreds of people, many for widows and those serving missions, without charge. That was always a busy time of year! For over 40 years, he served on the Taylor rodeo committee & took entries for the rodeo events & stayed till the wee hours of the morning, after the rodeos to make sure the contestants all got their pay checks.  He also served for several years as a board member and President of the Board of Directors at Northland Pioneer College.   Leon gave acts of service, probably daily, mostly anonymously, to his family, friends & neighbors.  His favorite hobby was to work!  He was quite a home body and didn't care if he ever left his zip code.  True enjoyment and relaxation to him was taking care of the livestock, irrigating, and farming.  He loved spending time with the family attending their ballgames, rodeos, camping, barbeques, family dinners and just being around his large family.   He also enjoyed team roping with his dad, sons and grandsons, raising and running race horses.  He loved cutting wood with family, camping, hunting, and fishing, water skiing.  In his younger years he was quite an athlete, playing basketball & baseball.  He has been a lifelong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where he served in many positions. He especially enjoyed serving in the Snowflake Temple. He was a very quiet & gentle man that will be deeply missed. He is preceded in death by his parents, Harvey & Vera Palmer; sister, Florence Evelyn, grandson, Willard Russell Palmer, & in-laws, Bert & Gertrude Solomon. He is survived by his loving wife & eternal companion, Gloria; children, Sherri (Scott) Burt, Leiann (Randall) Fish, Rusty (Kelly) Palmer, Shawn (Dicie) Palmer & Brad (April) Palmer, grandchildren & great-grandchildren; sisters, Deanne (Dale) Smith & Elaine (Duane) Hensley, and many nieces, nephew & cousins. A visitation will be held on Sunday, February 11, 2018 from 5:00-7:00pm at Owens Livingston Mortuary, 84 E, 19 S., Snowflake, AZ. Funeral services will be at 11:00 am on Monday, February 12, at the Centennial Chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,   880 N. Centennial Blvd., Taylor, AZ  with an additional viewing an hour prior.  Burial will follow at the Reed Hatch Memorial Cemetery in Taylor, Arizona.