James L. Palmer of Silver City, New Mexico, died on September 11, 2024.

He was born in Spooner, Wisconsin on October 21, 1933 and spent his childhood roaming the Wisconsin woods. Jim loved baseball, good horses and old airplanes. They were a passion throughout his life. He obtained a private pilot’s license before he even got his driver’s license and went on to eventually get an ATPL, the highest rating a pilot can have. He played baseball in college and while serving four years in the Air Force.

Returning to Wisconsin after the Air Force, Jim naturally gravitated toward work outdoors. He was proud of his service as a Wisconsin Game Warden, which included ten years as a field warden in Superior, nine as a department pilot, and nine more on the chief warden’s staff, retiring as the Chief of Special Investigations. He was one of the first lifetime members of The Wisconsin Conservation Warden Association, a charter member of the International Association of Natural Resource Pilots, and a member of the QBs, a fraternity of professional aviators. He logged over 6,500 hours in the air, flying more than 30 different aircraft. Throughout his career Jim was recognized for his persistence and insistence on perfection. His pursuit of excellence and detail resulted in his becoming one of the outstanding pistol shots and firearm instructors in the state of Wisconsin. He was recognized by his supervisors and peers in the fields of aeronautics and special investigations as well as nationally for his contributions in covert operations management and training.

While still working for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Jim raised and successfully showed purebred Arabian horses. When not competing, he loved to trailer his horses out west for pack trips in Montana and the Dakotas. Jim’s love of speed was not exclusive to flying. It extended to motorcycles and cars; when he was 75 he even completed 10 fast laps at the Talladega Race Track.

If you were fortunate enough to sit at his dinner table you would have been entertained with storytelling and his sense of humor. There was no subject he didn’t have a story about. Jim was also a writer and had many stories of his time as a warden, a pilot, and an investigator, and he told them well. He included some of these stories in Game Wardens vs. Poachers: Tickets Still Available (1993) and also published two Southwestern novels. His articles appeared in outdoor and aviation publications.

Jim moved to Silver City in 1991 with his horses and took a year clearing the land and building his own home surrounded by the Gila National Forest above the Continental Divide Trail. In 1993, he married Gay Marks, also of Silver City, and together they lived a life of adventure, travel and art. The two explored much of the American west and Europe, riding horseback, hiking, and wilderness camping. There was nothing Jim couldn’t do if he wanted to do it. He was exceptionally good at shooting pool and played a mean harmonica. Late in life he even decided to take up sculpting and excelled at creating bronze sculptures.

Jim is survived by his wife of 31 years, Gay Marks; his sister Marian Polglase of Bryan, Texas; his brother Dick Palmer of Fairbanks, Alaska; numerous nephews and nieces and his brother-and sister-in-law Alan and Paula Marks.

Jim lived life well. He learned about the world, he developed impressive skills, and he had both a graciousness of spirit and a wry stoicism that made one feel good simply to be around him. Per his wishes, his ashes will be interred at The Northern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery near his birthplace of Spooner. He asked that any memorial contributions in his name be sent to The Wisconsin Conservation Warden Association, P.O. Box 44, Madison, WI 53701.

Honorary pallbearers are Bart Halvorson, Terry McCaughy, Pat Lowe, Delbert Utz, Bud Pasley, Jeff Polglase, Tim Palmer, Gary Palmer, Alan Marks, Josh Nelson, Chuck Androsky, Dale Erlandson, Ralph Christiansen, Bill Amorde, Walter Hooper, Jeff LaBuda, Russell Marks and Tommy Marks.

Last Update: Sep 16, 2024 2:58 pm CDT