Joseph Beveridge Palmer

Joseph Beveridge Palmer
December 14, 1937 – April 30, 2020

Joseph Beveridge Palmer "Joel" passed away from natural causes in the comfort of his own home in Center Sandwich, New Hampshire, on April 30, 2020. He was 82.

Friendly, kindhearted and well-mannered, Joel had a wonderful sense of humor and was a loyal friend who pursued many talents and interests throughout his life. Born to Joseph Wellington Palmer and Ruth Beveridge Palmer on December 14, 1937, in Hartford, Connecticut, he was the middle child of five and much preferred building ship model kits and watching F4U Corsair fighter planes fly over Long Island Sound than attending his ballroom dancing lessons and reading his schoolbooks.

At the age of seven, his family moved from their home in Stratford, Connecticut, to Longmeadow, Massachusetts, where his father took a job with Stanley Home Products after working for Chance Vought designing and manufacturing fighter aircraft for the Navy and Marines during World War II. Joel was always building or constructing something and was often scolded by his parents for stripping the new family home of wood and screws for his creative pursuits.
A hockey, football and track star at Westminster School in Simsbury, Connecticut, he broke the school's 100-yard dash record graduating in 1957. He served in the U.S. Navy living on a submarine for four years and attended Colby College and Western New England College where he obtained a business degree.
He sold microfiche for Bell and Howell and then later owned a Goodyear Tire store in Guilford, Connecticut, where he raised two daughters, Christa and Leah, with his former wife Ingrid Parri of Madison, Connecticut. He flew airplanes, collected antique cars, and sailed and built boats, including the first Dickerson 50, a staysail ketch presented at the Newport International Sailboat Show in 1982. He could fix just about anything and was a skilled carpenter who enjoyed projects around the house up until his last days. He loved classical music and could sing and play the piano. He was a world traveler having visited faraway places like Russia and Vietnam, befriending and mentoring many along the way.

He served on the Stanley Park Board and the Beveridge Family Foundation for close to five decades, devoted to his grandfather Frank Stanley Beveridge's legacy always helping others and giving back to the community when he could. He was an active and loyal Westminster School alum serving on the Board of Trustees from 1995-2001. He was also a member of the Executive Committee of the Alumni Association from 1982-1988 and served as Vice President (1984-1986) and President (1986-1988).

He later turned his trade to bookkeeping and maintained a base of clients working from his home office in Center Sandwich, New Hampshire, where he moved to in 1994. His appreciation for the solitude, peaceful way of life and stunning beauty of the White Mountains was deep, and he often went on camping and kayaking trips in the area with friends.

In his later years, he enjoyed visits on Bear Camp Pond, boating on Squam Lake, and rides in his antique cars with his three granddaughters Genevieve Luce Bigue, Marguerite Palmer Bigue and Delia Louise Richardson and daughters and son-in-laws Christa Palmer (Dominic Bigue) and Leah Palmer (Ken Richardson). He also enjoyed in the last few months of his life a visit with his extended family in Vietnam, a destination he grew to love and longed to call his permanent home.

Perhaps his greatest passion in life however was mentoring young people especially those who experienced a tough start in life or needed extra support to achieve great things and to lead a more positive way of life. He fulfilled the role as father to many and in some cases gained custody. In this capacity he leaves behind five sons Ronald Rivard, John Mazur, Edward Putney, Le Huay Doan, and Jordan Jacob Allen Darrah.

In a manifesto he penned in 2001 titled "Philanthropy My Way," he wrote about his work "rescuing and mentoring" others: "When I began my work with young people 35 years ago, I had the strength to take on this task, but not the wisdom. Now, I have the wisdom, but I no longer have the strength. But no matter, I shall never give up nor shall I ever let them down so long as I live."

In lieu of flowers and cards, and in the spirit of his philanthropic pursuits, the family requests that you perform a simple act of kindness in his memory.