Valerie Palmer

It is with heavy hearts we announce the passing of our mum, Valerie Palmer on Sunday, September 10, 2023 at Bethany Calgary at the age of 79. She was the daughter of the late Amelia Andrews and Clifford Coppin. Lovingly remembered by her children, Lorna Palmer, Leona Palmer and John Palmer (Debbie). Forever in her heart were her grandchildren, Michael Carter, Samantha Carter, Rachel Carter, Emily Carter, Kalea Palmer and Brianna Palmer. She is lovingly remembered by her sisters, Lenore Demeter (Joe), Joanne Burnham, Kim Wallace, Lisa Shaw; and her brother, Andy Johnson. She loved her nieces and nephews Kristy (Kyle) Mahar, Kevin (Kara) Demeter, Nathan Johnson, Hunter Johnson, Theresa Johnson, Jay Burnham, Joshua Wallace and Jerimiah Wallace.

Val was born in South Ockendon, Essex, United Kingdom. She came to Canada on the Queen Mary with her mother in 1946 to the booming town of Kamsack, Saskatchewan to live with her grandparents just as WWII was ending. Sadly, after 6 months in Canada, her dad, an RCAF pilot, died in a plane crash in Estevan, SK on September 15, 1946 while ferrying a Dakota back from the USA. Her dad and 20 other veterans died that day. Val idolized her dad. If you are interested in knowing more about this piece of history there is a Memorial Cairn located just outside of Estevan honoring these brave men. Maire Caulder along with her dedicated team wrote the book, Forever in the Clouds, which included interviews from the families, so that people could remember.

https://globalnews.ca/video/4531068/forever-in-the-clouds-honouring-21-wwii-veterans-killed-in-estevan-plane-crash-2

Shortly after the death of her dad, Val saw a lot of Canada as she and her mum moved around a lot. But they settled in Calgary. When she was older, she loved the beauty of BC, where she lived off and on for 14 years. The province of Alberta was always good to her, therefore she chose to spend her final years in Crossfield, Alberta. She loved this little town, and it was her piece of heaven filled with people she got to know and love.

Val proudly started her career as a bookseller at BookWorks in Abbotsford, BC and eventually opened her own bookstores. Mum’s passion was books, history and sharing that knowledge with the people she met throughout her career. While working at the bookstores in Abbotsford and Chilliwack she met her longtime friends Rudy, Pat, and Bear (daughter Celia). In the early 80’s the recession hit and she made the decision to move back to Calgary, Alberta where she found her passion again at Coles Books. She worked there for 12 years and loved her gig as a manager at Northland Mall and Market Mall because she got to do what she did best: helping people find the right genre to read and share her knowledge of history.

 Although she took time to play bridge, would tolerate Crib, and enjoyed a good game of Yahtzee and Rumoli, many times you would find Val curled up with a good book.

Val was a huge animal lover and volunteered at the Chilliwack SPCA in the 80’s. She donated monthly to Tails To Tell Cat Shelter in Crossfield, AB. She loved her cats and loved to be around horses.

Val touched a lot of the lives of the people she met along her life’s journey as a bookseller and reading Tarot cards. Her friend Rudy, only did astrology and he told her she had to learn Tarot. She was very accurate at reading the cards. They made a good team and she loved him dearly.

A special thank you to the extraordinary care team at Bethany Calgary for their dedication, support and compassion.

At Val’s request no service will be held. The family requests those who want to express sympathy to consider making a donation to Tails To Tell. https://tailstotell.ca/