T. David Palmer Maker Space

T. David Palmer was born at home in a small coal mining town in Southern Illinois. When he was still a little boy, his father was killed in a huge underground mine explosion, leaving David with a hard-working mother, a beloved sister, Dorothy Mae, and soon a small stray dog of unknown heritage named Freckles who could ride for hours in a big red wagon or a little boy’s bicycle basket.

At the age of eight, David and Freckles rode their bicycle to a hill overlooking a river outside of town. Workers were repairing and reconstructing a bridge across the water. It was that very day that he decided he would become an engineer when he grew up!

With that determination, David was on a quest for knowledge, managing to acquire a collection of books he kept shelved beside the water heater in his mother’s house. While his “home” collection was small, many more books were to be found in the one-room library in Zeigler, Illinois. A space located at the South End of the local Community House, and presided over by Mrs. Lenzini, the local librarian whose goal in life was to watch closely over the many children who came in to learn – David among them. She helped and guided him and many others toward full and successful lives.

At the age of thirteen, David met and courted a neighborhood girl “Sherry” or “Sherra” Ramsey who would become his lifetime companion. After high school, David, who didn’t have the funds to go to school, worked at a filling station and for a local land surveyor. Knowing he needed to work hard to build a future for himself, he enlisted in the Air Force. A few days before shipping out to basic training, realizing he couldn’t leave Sherra behind, they married and began a lifetime of adventures that lasted 63 years.

The family -  joined by son Tom in late 1962. David served as Engineer/Land Surveyor at Pease Air Force Base in New Hampshire. When his enlistment ended, the family moved to Arizona where both David and Sherra attended Arizona State University. David and Sherra worked menial jobs while attending college full-time on academic scholarships. David graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Construction Engineering. The promise of an eight-year-old boy was fulfilled!

David joined Kaiser Engineers of California, a large construction company. Assignments took the family from Northern Michigan to South Texas, and from the San Francisco Bay Area to New England. He eventually became the Director of Construction for many world-wide projects with Pratt-Whitney/United Technologies of Connecticut. He worked and travelled the world, dining with princes in the Middle East, dipping his hand in the Nile in Egypt, tracing the contours of the Great Wall of China, and fulfilling a long-ago promise to Sherra, to show her the wonders of the Taj Mahal and a home life in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Even as the family travelled and their success grew, David always had a LIBRARY CARD in his pocket. At each new location (32 street addresses in all!) the family chose their house, neighborhood, and town solely on the answer to David’s question: “What’s the Library like?”

In 1981, the Palmers found their last home together here in Farmington. Over the course of 41 years, David grew to love the town, saying “I wasn’t born in Farmington, but this certainly has been our home.” David’s love for Farmington turned into action: he volunteered for the Friends of the Farmington Library, served as a docent at the Stanley Whitman House, was elected Town Moderator of Elections, and served as a Trustee of the Library. He ably led the 2010 renovation of the Barney Library, volunteering his skill and expertise as a project manager to ensure the success of the project.

David’s accomplishments are too many to mention. More important than the projects he completed were the friendships he made along the way. He was a protector by nature and if he loved you, he would do anything to help you. He was an excellent storyteller, with a quick wit and boundless knowledge. He was humble. Funny. Sharp witted. 

And he loved the library. 

The T. David Palmer Maker Space at The Farmington Libraries is named in memory of this remarkable man, of humble beginnings. A person who found his way to success with grit, determination, and a LIBRARY CARD. May a new generation of dreamers and builders find inspiration as they explore and experiment at The Farmington Libraries.

Thomas David Palmer returned to God on March 28, 2024. He is missed, but not forgotten. May his memory be a blessing.