Joseph H. Palmer

Joseph H. Palmer, Jr. passed away peacefully on October 31, 2025, at Anne Arundel Medical Center surrounded by his daughters and grandson. Joe was born in Washington, DC, on September 9, 1929, to Joseph H. Palmer Sr and Margaret V Palmer (nee Burke). He was a 1948 graduate of St. John’s College High School and served in the US Navy as a Radio Operator from 1948 to 1952. 

Upon his Honorable Discharge, he joined the brand-new National Security Agency from which he retired in December 1984. In 1956, he married Suzanne Shaw with whom he had 4 children, only one of whom, Michael J Palmer, survived infancy. Joe and Sue divorced in 1962 and in 1967 he rekindled a romance with the love of his life, Sylvia Elizabeth Warady. They married in June 1968 and were blessed with two daughters, Christine and Jennifer. In 1974, they moved to Bowie, Maryland, where they raised their family. They were active parishioners at Ascension Catholic Church and Joe was a member of the Bowie Lions Club. In 2019, they moved to BrightView Senior Living in Annapolis where they enjoyed their final years together.

Joe was predeceased in death by his mother (1945) and father (1987), his wife Sylvia (2023), and his children, Thomas (1957), John (1958), Mary (1959), and Michael (2021). He is survived by his daughters Christine Kling and Jennifer Palmer (William Spruce), former daughter-in-law Sebrena Palmer, former son-in-law Steven Kling, his grandchildren Brandon Palmer (Kaitlyn), Kathleen Reese (Kamden), and Daniel Kling (McKenna Bates), and his great-granddaughter Charlotte Palmer.

The family will receive friends on Thursday, November 13, 2025 at Beall Funeral Home, 6512 NW Crain Highway, Bowie, MD 20715 from 4:00pm-7:00pm. A Memorial Mass will be held at Ascension Catholic Church, 12700 Lanham Severn Road, Bowie, MD 20720 on Friday, November 14, 2025 at 11:00am.

Interment will be held privately with the family.

Memorial Donations may be made in his name to St. John's College High School, attention: Advancement Office, 2607 Military Road, NW, Chevy Chase, Washington DC 20015 or the Bowie Lions Club, please visit https://bowielions.org/donations-payments/.