Robert DuBose PALMER^[1]

1910 - 2008  (97 years)

• Name	Robert DuBose PALMER  [2, 3, 4, 5]
  Birth	Oct 1910  [4]
  Gender	Male
  HIST	at death- he had 5 great-grandchildren Date Published: September 3, 2008 ROBERT D. PALMER Robert Dubose Palmer, 97, died Monday, Sept. 1, 2008, at Tuomey Regional Medical Center. Mr. Palmer was a realtor and developer with Riley & Company, of which he was co-owner and president. He served two terms on Sumter City Council; two terms on Sumter County Council; 12 years on the Tuomey Hospital Board of Trustees; several terms on the Vestry of the Church of the Holy Comforter; and in numerous other civic organizations. He was preceded in death by his wife of 60 years, Belle Chandler Palmer. Surviving are three children, Anne H. Palmer of Decatur, Ga., Catherine P. Tillman and husband, Noel, of Beaufort and Philip G. Palmer and wife, Suzanne, of Sumter; two grandchildren, Carolyn A. Dennis of Beaufort and Austin L. Palmer of Huntersville, N.C.; and five great-grandchildren. Memorial services will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday at the Church of the Holy Comforter with the Rev. Dr. John M. Barr officiating. The family will receive friends in the church Parish Family Life Center following the service. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Church of the Holy Comforter Building Fund, P.O. Box 338, Sumter, SC 29151; to the SPCA of Sumter, 1140 S. Guignard Drive, Sumter, SC 29150; or the Alzheimer's Association, P.O. Box 7044, Columbia, SC 29202. Online condolences may be sent to www.sumterfunerals.com . Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home & Crematory, 221 Broad St., Sumter, is in charge of the arrangements, (803) 775-9386. Date Published: September 4, 2008 Robert Palmer: 1910 - 2008 Former councilman played big part in city's beautification Dedicated, hardworking and conscientious are some of the words friends and family use to describe former city and county councilman and real estate broker Robert Palmer. The 97-year-old prominent son of Sumter died Monday. He was just one month shy of his 98th birthday. His son, Philip Palmer, smiled as he remembered how his father cared for his mother, the former Belle Chandler, with whom he spent 60 years of marriage. "They would walk the downtown area, hand in hand," he said. "He cared," Phillip Palmer elaborated. "He cared about his family, his church and his community." Robert Palmer served on Sumter City Council and Sumter County Council as well as the Tuomey Hospital board of trustees during the 1960s and 1970s. Former City Councilman Morris Mazursky called Palmer an "outstanding citizen." "It's really a great loss," he said. "He was an excellent city councilman. "He was extremely conscientious and one of the most honest and intelligent persons I've ever seen," Mazursky said. "(He was a) watchdog for any waste in government." Philip Palmer said his father's early travels led him across the county. "He hitchhiked to California during the Great Depression," he said. "He tried to sell oranges." After brief stints at a California college, then the College of Charleston and the University of South Carolina, Palmer settled back in Sumter where he tried his hand at real estate at local real estate company Riley & Co., where he was co-owner and president. Mack Kolb, local broker, said he met Palmer in 1973. "I knew him from general business," he said. "He was very honorable and very progressive thinking." Kolb recalled Palmer asking him to go to Charlotte to see the city's real estate development in an effort to bring the ideas to the Sumter area. "He was highly regarded with knowledge of real estate," he said Though an incredibly focused and dedicated worker, Philip Palmer said, his father knew how to cut loose. "He was always the first on the dance floor," he said. "He loved to dance." His social service went beyond the legislative perspective. Palmer, literally, got his hands dirty trying to improve Sumter as evidenced by the Bradford Pear trees that line many of the downtown residential areas. "The beautification of Sumter is something he did into his 80s," his son said. When the downtown historic district was established, Palmer, along with former City Councilwoman Colleen Yates, helped organize the Hampton Park organization. "He was a man ahead of his time," Yates said. "He will be greatly missed." Yates said Palmer was one of the most "dedicated, hardworking citizens in Sumter." "We need more like him," she said. Palmer was also a lifelong member of the Church of the Holy Comforter. He leaves behind a son, two daughters, two grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Funeral services were scheduled for 2 p.m. today at the Church of the Holy Comforter. — Jamie Hudson  [3, 4]
  Occupation	he was a realtor and developer with Riley & Company, of which he was co-owner and president; he served 2 terms on Sumter City Council; 2 terms on Sumter County Council; 12 years on the Tuomey Hospital Board of Trustees
  Religion	he served several terms on the Vestry of the Church of the Holy Comforter, Sumter, South Carolina  [4]
  _UID	73BA1302BE914E778E74BFA0F66B5887F71E
  Death	1 Sep 2008	Tuomey Regional Medical Center, Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina
  Burial	4 Sep 2008	a memorial service was held at the Church of the Holy Comforter, Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina   [3]
  	Elmore-Hill-McCreight Funeral Home & Crematory, Sumter, South Carolina
  Person ID	I74563	Singleton and Related Families
  Last Modified	9 Nov 2025

  
  

  Family	Belle CHANDLER   d. Bef 1 Sep 2008
  _UID	0404B872B12B4F39B688FB743C911B4C7745
  _UID	0404B872B12B4F39B688FB743C911B4C7745
  Children	1. Philip G. “Phil” PALMER,   b. 1 Jul 1945   d. 4 Mar 2022, at his home, (Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina) (Age 76 years)   2. Anne Harriet PALMER,   b. 9 Nov 1943, Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina d. 13 Oct 2025 (Age 81 years)   3. Catherine “Cathy” PALMER
  Family ID	F51808	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	23 Mar 2026

  
  

• Sources

  [S32969] Anne Harriet Palmer. [S1273] Harriet E. Chandler. [S11019] Robert D. Palmer. [S11020] Robert Palmer - 1910-2008 - Former Councilman played big part in city’s beautification. [S29680] Philip G. Palmer.