Person:James Palmer (68)

James' name probably appears on his birth certificate as James Warren WOOLLEY. I don't know what is on his military records, but as far as I know he has always used James Warren PALMER. Before retirement, Uncle Jimmy was a machine shop owner

1930 census-James M Wooley; 8; DC

1940 census-James W; 18; school H4; DC; new worker

1943-World War II Army Enlistment Record-James W Palmer; b 1921 DC; enlistment 1 Sep 1943 Greensboro, NC Air Corps; 4 yrs high school; civil occupation hotel & restaurant managers [conversation with Mom 9 Jan 2012-as far as she knows Uncle Jimmy never worked hotel/restaurant; immediately after high school he went to work for OS Peters, a machine shop in the District of Columbia; he had several deferments re: World War II due to the type of work he was doing; he joined the Air Corps and was a navigator and stationed in Hawaii]

1993-James has 2 yrs. of college. He has traveled in Netherlands, Russia, Canada and England. He enjoys sailing, skiing, golf, tennis and biking. He plans to manufacture medical instruments some day and lower his golf handicap.

2011-obituary-James W. Palmer, 90, of White Hollow Road, died at Sharon Hospital on 19 Aug 2011. He was the husband of the late Virginia Palmer, whom he had married in 1945.

He was born in 1921 in Washington, DC and was raised there with a brother and two sisters. He attended John Quincy Adams Elementary School 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 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 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 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 service and a gentleman farmer.

He is survived by his daughter; his son; four grandchildren; a brother and a sister.