Steven Lee Palmer

Steven Lee Palmer was born March 18, 1949, to LeRoy and Lucille Palmer in the small northern Arizona town of Taylor. He was always incredibly proud of his Arizona roots and enjoyed sharing stories from his family history and pioneer heritage. As the son of a rancher, he spent much of his youth working the land with his dad and siblings, developing a love/hate relationship with cows. He was expected to be on the farm early before school to complete his chores and milking responsibilities, even as a little boy. These experiences taught dad the blessing of work, a gift he would later pass on to each of his children.
Roy and Lucille had six children together; Arvin (Jean), Connie (Don Cook), Sybill (Steve Corry), Steve (Kathi), Phyllis (Mike Peterson), and Fred (Rebecca). The Palmer Family loved spending time together and held regular family reunions, and wrote monthly newsletters to keep up on changes to the family. Steve often spoke about his “angel mother” and her love for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Before Dad’s passing, his sister, Connie, and both of his brothers preceded him in death. In addition, Steve loved his brothers and had a tender relationship with his two living sisters, Sybil and Phyllis. We can only imagine the grand “family reunion” on the other side of the veil as these family members are reunited.
Steve was an accomplished athlete while attending Snowflake High School, where he was a state champion wrestler and exceptional football player. He was elected the Student Body Vice President, the Junior Prom King, and was named “Mr. Preferred” by his classmates. Many of his classmates have reached out to our family to share stories of his friendship and kindness. These people describe Steve as someone who was a friend to everyone.
Early in his life, he developed a love for our nation and the Founding Fathers. The Fourth of July was his favorite holiday, along with all of the traditions celebrated in Taylor on Independence Day. His own father, Roy, was a man of integrity and a civil servant who was elected as a state senator in Arizona and served as the city mayor. Steve memorized the Gettysburg Address, the Preamble to the Constitution, and often became emotional when he spoke of the blessings of freedom. He earned his Eagle Scout Award and was involved in service organizations to give back to his community.
In 1968, Steve was called to serve in the Florida Mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1968-70, where he taught in Spanish. He spent much of his time in Miami and developed a deep love for the people of Cuba and Puerto Rico. While in the mission field, he made friendships with the people he taught that have lasted his entire life and that are sure to last throughout eternity.
Upon returning from his mission, Steve attended Brigham Young University and studied marketing and Spanish. It was during this time that he met the love of his life, Kathryn Halliday. Theirs was a storybook romance, and they quickly fell in love as they dated while attending school together. On April 25th, 1975, Steve and Kathi were sealed in the Salt Lake City Temple for time and all eternity and started their journey together that would last forever. Over their first 47 years of marriage, Steve has treated Kathi like a princess, attending to her every need- never missing an opportunity to open doors for her. He often called her his “Sunshine Girl” and held her hand anytime they walked together. Dad never stopped courting his sweetheart, and they went on dates together nearly every week. It was evident that their love for each other only grew stronger with each passing year. They are an incredible example of the type of marriage each couple can have when they make their relationship a top priority. Our favorite memory was to see them dancing together in the kitchen after washing dishes.
During his final year at BYU, Steve received a job at a local company called Intermountain Farmers Association, where he worked as an entry-level floor worker. Because of his work ethic and love for people, dad was soon promoted to be the manager of the Salina branch and continued working for IFA until the day he retired, a successful career lasting more than 40 years. Dad worked in many different capacities and served as the CEO for the final 15 years of his career. The people of IFA were like family to dad- they were some of his very closest friends, and he spent hours memorizing the names of their family so that he could better serve them. His colleagues describe him as a man of principle and vision. Under his leadership, IFA was in a better position than the day he started. Even after retirement, he would speak of IFA with great pride- as though he was still a part of the company he loved. He often asked us to put our hands on our hearts as we passed by the corporate office in Salt Lake.
Dad was a man of discipline. He planned his days to ensure that priorities and important tasks were done and kept a weekly planner in his pocket wherever he went. That discipline was on display in nearly every aspect of his life. He exercised every day, lived the adage of “early to bed, early to rise,” and likely never missed a day of expressing gratitude to his Heavenly Father through prayer. He carried around index cards of his favorite scriptures that he spent time memorizing. He kept a daily journal his entire life – a treasure he left for his posterity. He believed in continuously improving himself and was a firm believer in setting goals. When Steve set a goal to accomplish something- it usually happened.
Throughout his life, Steve had opportunities to serve in church callings and blessed the lives of many people who came to him in need. He served as Young Men’s President, a bishop, and stake president, but he took no calling more seriously than the responsibility of home teacher/ minister. Steve was consistent in the lives of the people he served, and it was clear that his motivation was simply to show love for his fellowmen. He was a good neighbor and never passed someone by without offering a smile and a friendly wave. The days after his passing have been filled with countless messages from people blessed by his friendship and service. He followed the Savior’s call to “love one another” and sought to serve.
Steve was an exceptional father. Above all, he wanted to help his children develop personal relationships with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. He held monthly interviews with each of his kids to set goals, learn about friends, and ask them questions about their lives. He regularly told us how proud he was- “not for what you have accomplished, but because of who you are.” He was a patient teacher and wasn’t known to raise his voice (unless it was during a BYU Football game). His teaching method was by example, through patience, and, at times, by long-suffering. When one of the children completed a chore, he would announce an “inspection” to help us improve our efforts and better learn the standard for doing something the right way. He believed in the adage that “doing one’s best” was necessary for every task, no matter how small.
He successfully raised eight exceptional children- four sons and four daughters, and he loved each of their spouses as though they were also his children. He encouraged his children to develop their talents and to set goals. He has attended hundreds of soccer, football, and basketball games and countless dance performances. He was the dad that always showed up to our activities.
Perhaps the most compelling example of Dad’s legacy is the 32 grandchildren (and counting) that have come into his family. Dad loved each grandson or daughter and made sure to spend time with each one of them individually, passing on important life lessons. He’s adored by each grandkid and will be dearly missed, but we believe Grandpa will continue to play an essential role in each of their lives from beyond the veil.
He loved reading the Book of Mormon and made a life-long habit of diligently studying the scriptures every day. He taught his children to love the scriptures through family study and regularly shared his witness of Jesus Christ and his love for the Prophet Joseph Smith. Steve wanted his children and grandchildren to remember his testimony, and he shared it continuously. In addition, he frequently served in the Jordan River Temple with Kathi and loved doing ordinance work for deceased relatives.
Besides his family, Steve didn’t have many hobbies to speak of, but he was an avid fan of BYU sports and was excited about their football team’s win only a few days before his passing. Even when the team doesn’t perform as he hopes, he expresses loyalty to the group regardless of their record (but he was still sad when they lost). Our family has many good memories of being with dad at football games, knowing how he loved watching them play. It was common for the kids to discover their favorite VHS cassette tapes erased to record the most recent football game. Dad loved the Cougars.
Steve was generous with his time and money- always giving freely to people who were in need. He loved reading good books and enjoyed music- especially listening to his grandchildren sing or play instruments. When he was younger, he enjoyed playing the guitar and singing with his family, and he had a deep respect for anyone who would share their musical talents.
One of the most incredible experiences Steve and Kathi had together in this lifetime was serving a mission together in Uganda, Africa. They spent the entire 21 months serving the beautiful people of Rwanda, where they saw firsthand how prepared the people of Africa are to embrace the gospel. They loved serving as companions and together saw countless miracles as doors were opened to the Church. He loved working with the younger missionaries and grew close to his mission president and his wife. During a missionary preparation class, dad taught these future missionaries the importance of being physically prepared for a mission and asked them how many push-ups they could each do. After each one gave their best attempt, dad removed his watch and quickly knocked out 63 push-ups, pointing out that he could have done more had he not already done 50 push-ups earlier that morning. We feel so grateful that Mom and Dad were able to serve as companions together in Africa, and the people of Rwanda will always occupy a portion of their hearts.
Upon their return from Rwanda, Steve and Kathi served a mission in the LDS Employment Resource Center to help people gain employment. During this time, they made great friends and touched the lives of many who benefited from Dad’s business experience. He spent his time preparing people for interviews and teaching them other skills that would enable them to find employment.
Although Dad’s time on earth has ended earlier than we anticipated, our family has known rich blessings during this season of life. Before his diagnosis of stage 4 lung cancer in 2015, our family feared the worst. Dad was reflective and prayerful with the initial news, but after some time, he gathered the family together to share his faith and to teach us the principle of the “fourth watch.” He fully believed that his life would be prolonged and encouraged us to “fear not.” As a result, we united our faith as a family and witnessed miracle after miracle as his life was prolonged for nearly seven additional years than had been initially expected. How grateful we are for the extra time we had together with him, to make new memories, and to grow in our faith together as dad struggled in his health. This experience has helped us grow and to prepare for future challenges. His legacy as a stalwart, faithful follower of the Lord Jesus Christ has taught us that we too can do hard things.
We have heard from many friends and family members during the days following Dad’s passing, and we are humbled by the ways you have lifted our family. We have seen other faithful followers of the Savior, and we are inspired to follow your examples of service. Thank you for your messages of love and support and for the prayers you have offered on our behalf. We have truly felt the comforting presence of the Holy Ghost in our lives.
Steve is survived by his sisters, Sybil Cory (Steve), and Phyllis Peterson (Mike), his wife, Kathryn Halliday Palmer, and children Steve Palmer (Amy), Emily Nelson (Josh), Debra Miller (Matthew), David Palmer (Stacey), Michelle Shuman (Tyler), Heather Omer (Matt), Mark Palmer (Alexia), and Nathan Palmer.
A viewing will be held Monday, November 1, 2021, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Memorial Holladay~Cottonwood Mortuary, 4670 South Highland Drive, Holladay, Utah 84117. Funeral services will follow Tuesday, November 2, 2021 at 10:00 a.m., at the Hunter South Stake Center, 5180 West 4700 South, West Valley City, Utah 84128 with a viewing beginning at 8:30 a.m., prior to the funeral.
To join the funeral remotely, please use the following link https://zoom.us/j/93969690467
Service Information
Viewing November 1, 2021 at 6:00-8:00 PM
4670 South Highland Drive, Holladay, UT 84117





Viewing November 2, 2021 at 8:30-9:45 AM
5180 West 4700 South, West Valley City, UT 84128





Funeral Service
November 2, 2021 at 10:00 AM
5180 West 4700 South, West Valley City, Utah 84128