Nancy Nebel Palmer

Nancy Nebel Palmer, nee Nancy Davis Nebel, 89, a retired elementary school teacher, died August 1, 2019 at Clark Retirement Community on Keller Lake.  A Grand Rapids, MI resident, Mrs. Palmer was born in Munising, MI and attended high school in Ann Arbor, MI.  In 1952 she was awarded a BA degree from Albion College where she was a member of Delta Zeta sorority.  She was awarded an MA degree in special education from the University of Michigan’s Rackham School in 1955 where she was inducted into Pi Beta Pi, an educational honor society.  She achieved elementary teaching certification in several states and also held an early childhood development certificate in Maryland.  During her teaching career she taught early elementary grades in public and private schools in Michigan, South Carolina, California, Maryland and New Jersey.   She held many of these positions as she followed her husband Philip M. Palmer, a retired Navy Captain, during his Navy career.  While on an assignment in the Philippines she was a reader in local Philippine schools and led several charity projects.  Mrs. Palmer was active in Navy Officers Wives Clubs, Bay View (MI) Woman’s Council, and the Northern Michigan Panhellenic Association, Belleek International Collectors Society, and organizer of several book discussion groups.   Nancy, a beloved wife, mother and grandmother will be missed by many.  Survivors include her husband of 57 years Philip M. Palmer; a son William Arthur Palmer (Anna) of Grand Rapids; grandsons Brian Philip Palmer, Owen Steven Palmer and Quinn Edward Palmer, granddaughter Lucy Jo Palmer; brother Charles E. Nebel (Mary Alice); sister Mary Sue (Richard) Hansen and numerous nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.  She was preceded in death by her sister Judith Ann Nebel, brother Richard William Nebel and her parents Judge Richard Westfield Nebel and Alene Davis Nebel.  An informal open house gathering of family and Keller Lake Towne Home neighbors will be held on Monday, August 19, 2019 from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm, at the Metcalf & Jonkhoff Funeral Service, 4291 Cascade Rd SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546  

Services will be held in the United Methodist Church of Munising, MI on September 28, 2019.  Visitation will be at 1 pm preceding a funeral service in the sanctuary at 2 pm.  Interment will follow in Maple Grove Cemetery with a reception in the church shortly after.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the United Methodist Church of Munising, the Alger County Historical Society or the Clark Retirement Community Foundation.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Nancy Nebel Palmer, please visit our floral store.