John A. Palmer
John A. Palmer of Rossville, Georgia, passed away on May 22, 2021 at the age of 91.
He was born in Chattanooga Valley, Georgia, on June 22, 1929. John graduated from Chattanooga Valley High School in 1946, where he had served as a class leader and all-star athlete. He then enlisted in the Navy where he served three years on the U.S.S. Constitution as an electrician and was honorably discharged as a petty officer 2nd class. He then married Rosa in 1952 and, after living a few years in West Point, Georgia, the couple moved to Rossville in the late 1950s where they planted roots to raise their family.
John started out as a loan officer at a local Chattanooga bank and worked in banking his entire life. He received his banking degree from the LSU School of Banking in the mid-1970s. After serving as President/CEO of Fort Oglethorpe State Bank, he saw the need for a savings and loan in the community and resigned to found Community Federal Savings and Loan in the late 1970s. He led the bank to success for many years and later sold it to AmSouth Bank (now Regions) in the mid-1990s.
John dedicated his life to helping others through his leadership as an ordained Baptist deacon, a member of the Kiwanis Club, and a member of the Shriners. He also served as a Royal Arch Mason, Worthy Patron of the Pocahontas Chapter of the Eastern Star number 1654, Worshipful Master of the Rossville chapter of Masonic Lodge number 397, and a 32nd degree Mason with the Scottish Rite Order.
John spent a lot of time fishing and became an avid golfer in his retirement and realized his dream of playing the St Andrews course in Scotland. John was known as a man of character with a strong moral compass. He never met a stranger and loved to talk about his banking career and his family, especially his beloved “Brown Eyed Girl” Rosa. His silly sense of humor, his giving heart, and his dedication to all his endeavors and to the Lord will be remembered.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Lester Palmer and Willie Belle Denton Palmer of Lookout Mountain, Georgia, and three sisters and one brother. He is survived by his loving wife of 69 years, Mrs. Rosa Lee Palmer, son John A Palmer, Jr., daughter Pamela (Steven) Wehmeyer, daughter Patricia Palmer and daughter Susan (Phillip) Khayat, nine grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, and one sister, Mrs. Barbara Teague of Collinsville, Oklahoma.
The funeral service will be 1 p.m. on Wednesday in the funeral home chapel. Interment will follow at Lakewood Memory Gardens, South with military honors.
Visit www.heritagebattlefield.com to share condolences with the family, view memorial tribute and view the live webcast of the funeral service.
In lieu of flowers, please donate in his memory to the Shriners Hospital for Children.
The family will receive friends 12-1 p.m. on Wednesday at Heritage Funeral Home, Battlefield Parkway.