Funeral services for Henry Palmer will be held on Saturday, July 19, 2014, at 2:00 p.m. at Highland Baptist Church with visitation an hour prior. Dr. Carl White will officiate. Burial will be at Forest Lawn Cemetery with Robert Barham Family Funeral Home in charge of the arrangements. Mr. Palmer, age 66, of Meridian, passed away Wednesday, July 16, 2014 at the University Medical Center in Jackson. Family and friends may sign the online guest book at robertbarhamffh.com. Visitation will be held on Friday, July 18, 2014 from 5:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. at the funeral home. Upon his death, he was surrounded by family and loved ones. He was a firm believer in Christ as his personal Lord and Savior and was well prepared to meet his Heavenly Father. Henry was very involved with his sons' sporting teams and coached little league baseball when they were young. He was involved in many philanthropic organizations that served the youth in the local community. He loved the outdoors and was an avid sportsman throughout his life. Henry was an accomplished and experienced trial attorney who practiced law in the state of Mississippi since 1972. He was a graduate of the University of Mississippi School of Law, having obtained his undergraduate degree in Public Administration from the University of Mississippi in 1970 and his Juris Doctorate in 1972. Mr. Palmer was admitted to practice law before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals and all courts in the state of Mississippi, including the United States federal District Courts for the northern and southern districts. Mr. Palmer previously had been involved in local politics and was elected as District Attorney for the 10th Judicial District in 1974, serving as the youngest elected District Attorney in Mississippi history. Subsequently, Mr. Palmer was elected and served for eight years as Circuit judge for the 10th Judicial District. Henry practiced law until the day of his death. He loved the law, loved to help his clients, and loved to mentor to his colleagues. Mr. Palmer represented both plaintiffs and defendants successfully to jury verdicts in trials involving wrongful death, products liability, and personal injury. As District Attorney and Circuit Judge, he prosecuted or presided over many notable and infamous cases in Lauderdale, Kemper, Clarke, and Wayne counties. Additionally, Mr. Palmer was serving as the attorney for the Kemper County Board of Supervisors, as he had for 20 years, as well as attorney for the City of Meridian's Civil Service Commission, the Lauderdale County Tourism Commission, and Mississippi Power's involvement with the Kemper County coal plant. He is a past president of the Lauderdale County Bar Association and a member of the Mississippi Bar Association. Mr. Palmer served on the Advisory Committee to the Mississippi Supreme Court that drafted and recommended adoption of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure, Mississippi Rules of Evidence, and Uniform Jury Instructions. He has served on committees that assisted the U.S. District Courts in filling positions. He has served as president of the Mississippi Association of County Board Attorneys Association and as president of the North Meridian Optimist Club and Meridian Jaycees. He was a past District Chairman for the Sowashee District, Chairman for the Choctaw Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America, and chairman of Lauderdale County's first March of Dimes Walk-A-Thon. He was a lifelong resident of Meridian. Like his father before him, he was accepted as a Mason. He was a Gideon and Deacon and a member of Highland Baptist Church. Mr. Palmer was married to Jan Collum Palmer for 45 years. Mr. Palmer and his wife have three sons and four grandchildren. Mr. Palmer has been honored multiple times with The Meridian Star's "Reader's Choice" award for favorite attorney. He was preceded in death by his father, V. Bernard Palmer and his mother, Mary Moore Palmer. He is survived by his wife and high school sweetheart, Jan Collum Palmer; his sister, Carolyn Palmer Kirk; and sons, Henry (Hap) A. Palmer, Gilbert (Gil) M. Palmer and his wife Cassandra, and J. David Palmer and his wife Lindi. Henry has four grandchildren who he loved more than life, Jackson Henry Palmer (13), Olivia Ann Palmer (12), Laney Elizabeth Palmer (5), and Aiden "Big A" Vance Palmer (2). Eddie Briggs, Jimmy Lee, and Charles Henry Stokes, his cousins are among his special friends that he considered brothers. Pall bearers will be Chuck Alderman, Jeff Collum, Casey Kirk, Daniel Kirk, Charlie Stokes, Sam Goldman, Van Collum, Chris Crow and Bobby Wilder. Honorary Pall bearers are Jimmy Lee, Eddie Briggs, Charles Henry Stokes, Gordon Collum, Gene Sheppard, Thomas Webb, Bill Renovich, Paul Hopper, Phil Mosley, Ed Carruth and Louie Parkman. Family and friends may sign the online guest book at robertbarhamffh.com.
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