Stephen Donald Palmer M.D.

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Stephen Donald Palmer M.D.'s memorial service will be June 29, 2 p.m. at St. Paul's Chapel, Magnolia Springs, Alabama. Instead of flowers, please consider gifts to St. Paul's or Children's Hospital, Birmingham. He was ageless in his way, and would appreciate gifts that keep on giving.

He is survived by Jean, Ruth, Elaine, Gladys, Joyce, Kathy, Jim P., Anne, MiRobin, Jim C., Apple, Karen, Susan, Alan, Laura, Ryan, Corey, Mira, Willis and his wonderful great-grandchildren as well. He also leaves an extended family of spirits that carry him forward, such as Talladega County Child Advocacy Center-Palmer Place and numerous boards, publications, patients and other dedicated professionals and volunteers working hard to make the world a little healthier and brighter for all of us.

A bit about the boy and the man, excerpted from his autobiographical "Biobit" -

"In July 1940, I and my friend Rutledge, also 16, bicycled from Birmingham, Alabama to Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. I had a $10 pawnshop bike, and this was before the days of gears on bikes. We got to Swarthmore after 902.8 miles and a lot of sweat. We largely hitchhiked and freight-trained back to Birmingham. I gained some vivid memories but Rutledge gained more, marrying my sister and raising three fine children.

"While an ensign in the Philippines during World War II, I changed my plans from the ministry to medicine after realizing that there are some situations where a doctor who is interested in faith can be of more help to people than a minister who is interested in medicine.

"During my pediatrics residency at University Hospital in Birmingham, I started the Poison Control Center, and was its only staff for some time. One of the first in the country, it grew into the Children's Hospital Poison Control Center.

"Sylacauga rapidly accepted my being a new pediatrician there, mid-1980. School was about to start and many parents were disturbed by the newly enforced policy of required immunizations. I wrote an article for the newspaper about the importance of immunizations. From that came a weekly column and eventually over 1,500 articles. [e.g., https://www.annistonstar.com/the_daily_home/daily-home-wins-awards-in-alabama-press-association-contest/article_9c437249-810f-552c-802b-11dd27a2f798.html: 'Dr. S.D. Palmer brought the Daily Home first-place honors in Human Interest']."

In medical practice for over a third of a century in Birmingham and Sylacauga, medical director of both Hudson Stuck Memorial Hospital in Alaska and Frontier Nursing Service in Kentucky, clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of Alabama Medical School, Cannon Medical Journalism Award, Wallace Clyde Award for excellence in pediatrics; Senior Scientist for UAB's Injury Prevention Center and much more: Don/Dad/Dandy/Doc, Dr. Palmer brought medicine, science, teaching and writing together within caring, humanitarian service that touched thousands of lives in Alabama and beyond.