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Page A-10 Shelton-Mason County Journal — Thursday, Sept. 2020
continued from page A—1
Betty was born in Morton and grew
up in Tacoma and Algona. She gradu-
ated from Auburn High School in
1955 and then moved to Fresno, Cali—
fornia, to attend Bible college.
Gil was born in Dallas, at the same
hospital where President John F.
Kennedy would later die, he pointed
out. His father worked as a coal min- ',
er, and Gil lived in Oklahoma, Iowa,
Idaho and Wyoming. His father’s
shipyard job brought the family to
Richmond, California, in 1941, when
Gil was about 10.
At 16, Gil quit school to serve as a
youth minister for the Church of God.
Two years later, he spoke at a state
convention at West Coast Bible Col-
lege in Fresno, where he met Betty.
After the couple married, Gil was
ordained as a minister. The couple
traveled the country staging religious
revivals.,For two years, Gil served as
the state youth and Christian educa-
tion director for the Church of God in
New Mexico.
After six months as missionaries in
Hawaii, Gil took the same state post
in Idaho for two years. Son Dean was
born in 1962, Patrick in 1969. i
In 1965, Gil followed up on an
epiphany: “I feel like I needed to join
the Army.” He added, “I could talk
to the guys, especially if there was a
conflic .” '
Instead of enlisting as a chaplain,
Gil learned to pilot helicopters. He
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Betty Palmer, who has been married to Gil for 64 years
In 1981, Gil Palmer survived a helicopter crash on a 13,000-foot peak in
Costa Rica. No one was injured. “The good Lord took care of us,” he
said.
Courtesy photo
flew for 18 1/2 years, including three
combat tours in Vietnam.
The men nicknamed Gil “Deacon.”
“They would say, ‘We know you’re
a minister, but you’re not a paid chap-
lain. Can we talk to you?’ Because I
was one of them,” he said.
One night, a traumatized young
soldier approached Gil. His father had
Kitten Rescue of Mason County
Right now we have young and adult cats'available for adoption.
Indoor only‘and a warm lap to sit on are ours and the kitties
«request.
Healthy and well adjusted, our kitties want their own home and
family to love. For more information please go to our website
kittenresq.net or call us at (360)— 427—3167.
Fqu Friar/tots Looleiwg for a Home
Sponsored by:
We have created a
low-stress, healthy
environment
‘ with soft lighting,
music, a regular
exercise program,
and frequent,
died the week before, and he had just
received a “Dear John” letter from his
fiancee announcing she was going to
marry another man. Gil talked the
man off the ledge. ‘ V .
“He said, ‘I was heading out to the
perimeter to blow my brains out’
It was worth being there for that one
person,” he said.
Couple: Palmers celebrate 64th wedding anniversary "
Gil was hit with shrapnel during
his first tour of Vietnam in 1968-69,
but flew the next day. During his
second tour in 1970-71, he was medi- .
vaced to Okinawa with back injuries.
His last tour lasted 90 days in 1972.
The couple spent two years sta-
tioned in Germany, and then Panama
for three years. In 1981, shifting
winds caused Gil’s helicopter to crash
into the side of a 13,000-foot moun—
tain in Costa Rica; everyone on board
survived. “The good Lord took care of
us,” he said.
Gil then taught helicopter instruc—
tors in Alabama. He retired from the
service in 1986.
During their time in Alabama,
Betty and her sons would drive 2,741
miles to visit her parents in Shelton.
Gil’s mother lived in Shorecrest. In
September 1989, the family moved to
the house where the couple still lives
in Shelton’s Hillcrest neighborhood.
The couple jdined the Old Time
Fiddlers District 5. He plays guitar,
and she plays ukulele, piano and ac-
cordion, and learned the fiddle after
joining the group.
“I thinkmusic has really helped us
as a family,” Betty said.
Asked how a marriage can survive
64 years, Betty laughed and said,
“He’s gone a lot!”
Gil said love, dedication and hav—
ing fun are keys. “You can always
work it out, if you really try.”
' Betty has one more piece of advice
for marital bliss: “Learn to bake pie.”
individualized
attention. We treat
every pet with
' affection, respect,
and kindness.
(360) 426-3052
270 SE Spring Place
Shelton, Washington 98584
E-ma’il: sylvan@hctc.com