Cheryl Lorene Palmer

On Sunday, September 2, Cheryl passed away peacefully at home, her husband and children at her side.

Cheryl Lorene was born September 15, 1951, in Oregon City, the first child of James and Glorene (Hostetler) Howard. She grew up living with her parents and her five younger siblings in the Canby and Wilsonville areas.

Cheryl graduated from West Linn High School in 1969 and from Oregon College of Education in 1973. She married Daniel Palmer, of Dallas, at Calvary Mennonite Church in Aurora in September 1972.

Cheryl, Daniel, and their children lived in Salem for 13 years before moving to Milwaukie in 1991. For 25 years Cheryl was employed as the receptionist at Harmony Road Dental Practice, where she worked with her sisters and enjoyed greeting patients, watching their families grow up and running into them at Freddy's.

In 1997, Cheryl joined St. Nicholas Orthodox Church. The parish community became an important part of her life. She cherished the friendship and fellowship of her fellow parishioners, and enjoyed quietly serving the community she held dear.

Cheryl loved being a wife to Daniel, mother to her four children, and Nana to her two grandchildren. Blessed with a large and loving extended family, she had an abiding affection for all members of her clan.

Cheryl loved to travel. While she was in school she looked into becoming a flight attendant, but it wasn't until 1998 that she flew on her first commercial flight to visit her daughter in France. She loved Paris and made regular trips to Germany to spend time with her daughter and her family. Cheryl liked Disneyland and made a point of taking her grandchildren there while she was still able to travel. Being a good Oregonian, she made annual pilgrimages to the Oregon coast and delighted in strolls on the beach.

As much as she loved traveling, Cheryl also enjoyed domestic activities at home and with her family. She spent many hours tending her lovely gardens and reading (outside, whenever possible). She kept her hummingbird feeder full and did her best to keep the squirrels away from the birdseed. She enjoyed walks through the neighborhood, waving to and chatting with neighbors, and had a weekly puzzle appointment with her sister.

Cheryl is loved and missed by her husband, Daniel; children, Amy of Portland, Melinda (Florian) Kolb of Jena, Germany, Daniel of Anchorage, Alaska, and Mark, with Heather, Nigel, and Faith Taylor, of Forest Grove; grandchildren, Eleanor and Johann Kolb of Jena; sisters, Beth Matile of Milwaukie, Jenny (Rod) Lucich of Oregon City, and Lauri (David) Conway of Ridgefield, Washington; brothers, James (Jeanne) Howard of Oregon City and John Howard, with Erin Bourke, of Tigard; several nieces and nephews; many beloved family members and friends. Her parents preceded her in death.

Two services will be held at St. Nicholas Orthodox Church at 2210 SW Dolph Court in Portland. A Funeral Vigil will be 7 p.m. Friday, September 7 and a Divine Liturgy at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, September 8. A light meal will be served after the Saturday service.

Burial will be at Zion Memorial Park Cemetery at 2010 SE Township Road in Canby on Saturday, September 8, at 2 PM.

In lieu of flowers, Cheryl's family requests that donations in her memory be made to Providence Milwaukie Hospice Fund. Checks may be made payable to Providence Milwaukie Foundation, with a memo "in memory of Cheryl Palmer" and mailed to the address below. Gifts may also be made online at the link below; on the Donation Options page, select Providence Milwaukie Foundation > Other > Hospice Fund.