James W. Palmer

SHARON — James W. Palmer, 90, of White Hollow Road died at Sharon Hospital on Aug. 19, 2011. He was the husband of the late Virginia Palmer.He was born in 1921in Washington, D.C., and was raised in Washington with a brother and two sisters. He attended John Quincy Adams Elementary Scholl and Central High School and the University of Maryland’s Aeronautical Engineering Program, while working in the field of scientific instruments. In 1943, he enlisted in the Air Corps, a division of the Army’s Signal Corps. In 1945, he married Virginia Ruth Palmer at the Dutch Reform Church in Scarsdale, N.Y. In 1945, he trained in B-29 bombers and graduated as second lieutenant navigator from radar school. In December 1946 he was discharged as first lieutenant in the Air Force DC and resumed work as a machinist. In 1948, he began his own precision instrument business, Mercury Instrument Company. In 1955, the family moved to Connecticut. He was a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission in Sharon as well as the Salisbury Congregational Church choir. He was on the Sharon Board of Education for 12 years and served as chairman for two years. He was also a member and past president of the Salisbury Rotary Club, a member of the Sewer and Water Commission and chairman of the Board of Assessment Appeals. He was an avid skier and cyclist and a sailor (he was a member of the Wononscopomuc Sailing Club). He was also an avid golfer and bridge player, a founding member of the Salisbury ambulance and a gentleman farmer.He is survived by his daughter, Carole Palmer; his son, Peter Palmer; four grandchildren, Casey, Christi, Ryan and Chase; his brother, Richard Palmer; and his sister, Margie Tarrant.A memorial service will be celebrated on Saturday, Aug. 27, at 1 p.m. at the Salisbury Congregational Church. Arrangements are under the care of the Kenny Funeral Home in Sharon.