1914-2008
Judson Lee Palmer (5 generations)
Attorney Oklahoma/Missouri OK/MO
The formal obituary identifies him as Judson L. Palmer, Sr.,[i] though his father was also named Judson L. Palmer. This first Judson L. Palmer and his wife, Katherine “Kitty” Hutcherson, lived in Tulsa and welcomed their son on December 26, 1914.[ii] This son would become known as Judson Lee Palmer, Sr. He died at age 94 and his obituary published in the Kansas City Star tells much of his story.
- Judson L. Palmer, Sr. of Liberty, Mo., passed away January 12, 2008, at the Missouri Veteran’s Home in Cameron, Mo. He was raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Kansas City. Mr. Palmer was a veteran of World War II. He served with the U.S. Army Air Corps as a flight instructor before entering the Navy and was commissioned an Ensign aboard a destroyer serving in the Pacific. Mr. Palmer was a graduate of Westport High School and a graduate of William Jewell College. He then graduated from the Kansas City School of Law. He opened a law practice in North Kansas City as Palmer and Davidson Law Office. Mr. Palmer later worked for Kansas City Title Insurance Company and retired in the early 1980s from the Chicago Title Insurance Company. During his tenure with Chicago Title, he served as a Regional Vice President. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Liberty, a life member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, the Missouri Bar Association, and the Democratic Party. He was a former member of the Liberty Lion’s Club. He enjoyed traveling, fishing, and mechanical work. Mr. Palmer also enjoyed debating with people and was an avid reader.
Census records spread some light on Judson, Sr., throughout his 9 decades of life. At age 22, in 1936, he married Martha Jane Simrall (1913-2002), daughter of an established family in Liberty, MO. In 1940, he is 26 years old, and living with his wife’s parents at 504 W. Kansas Street in Liberty, MO. He was working as a bookkeeper at a brewery while attending law school. They had a daughter named Ann and a son whom they named Judson L. Palmer, Jr. (1944-2006) who became an attorney like his father. The obituary of Palmer, Jr., who died before the passing of his father, reveals information about the family.
- Judson L. Palmer, Jr., 61, Liberty, MO, died Tuesday, September 12, 2006. Judson was born December 21, 1944 in Kansas City, MO to Judson L. and Jane Simrall Palmer. He was a 1962 graduate of Liberty High School. Judson attended California Institute of Technology and earned a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri at Columbia and a J.D. degree also from the University of Missouri at Columbia. He was a member of Phi Gamma Delta and Omicron Delta Kappa fraternities. Judson practiced law in Kansas City from 1970-1996. He was president and CEO of Emergency Providers, Inc. Judson was preceded in death by his mother, Jane Simrall Palmer. Survivors include his wife, Linda Rowland Palmer; son, Judson L. Palmer III and wife Jessica; grandson, Judson L. Palmer IV; father, Judson L. Palmer, Sr.; sister, Ann Simrall Grundy and her husband Don;…[iii]
Following suite, the next two generations had a Judson L. Palmer III, and IV, thus establishing this legacy through five generations.[iv]
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[i] Kansas City Star (Kansas City, MO), January 16, 2008.
[ii] The compiler has been unable to discover any information about Kitty and Judson and thus must begin the story with the birth of their son in 1914. Though I cannot document this heritage begins with Adoniram Judson, I have inserted this entry because Mr. Palmer and I both lived in Liberty, MO, and had relations with William Jewell College. Cardinal is Her Color!
[iii] https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/kansascity/name/judson-palmer-obituary?id=4317680
[1v] Special thanks to Ann Henning for discovering this Judson legacy family through her work at the Clay County Archives in Liberty, MO.