Name: Eugene Russell “Kook” Palmer dies and is remembered on Beaver Island, 2011
Start: 2011-09-18
End: 2011-09-24
Location: Holy Cross Parish Hall

Event

Dates: 2011-09-18 – 2011-09-24
Kind: Death
Where: Holy Cross Parish Hall
Eras: Modern era
Concepts: deathfamilycommunitymaritime
Within: Beaver Island

Eugene Russell “Kook” Palmer, 76, formerly of Beaver Island, died at his home in Traverse City on September 18, 2011. He grew up on the Island, worked for 25 years on the C&O car ferry, and was remembered for hunting, fishing, boating, music, and Island songs. A funeral Mass was held at Holy Cross on September 24.

This is a different person from the earlier Dr. Russell L. Palmer, Beaver Island’s resident physician from 1923 to 1955.

Sources

Marie LaFreniere and participants, “Russell Palmer RIP,” Beaver Island Forum, September 19–23, 2011.
The forum first announced Russell “Cook” Palmer's death, then preserved a funeral notice and a detailed obituary identifying Eugene Russell Palmer, age 76, formerly of Beaver Island. It is a contemporaneous community notice and obituary reproduction; the Beacon supplies the held newspaper version.
forum · www.beaverislandforum.com · 04 · t004101
Beaver Beacon, October 2011, “Russell ‘Kook’ Palmer.”
Reports Eugene Russell Palmer's September 18 death, September 24 Holy Cross funeral, Beaver Island upbringing, C&O car-ferry work, and family. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2011-10_Beaver-Beacon
Beaver Beacon, October 2011, held issue PDF, source scan.
The held October issue scan confirms the obituary.
data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 2011-10_Beaver-Beacon

Added 9 August 2026. Recent changes

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “Eugene Russell “Kook” Palmer dies and is remembered on Beaver Island, 2011”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/events/beaver-island-eugene-russell-palmer-death-2011/, accessed [date], citing Marie LaFreniere and participants, “Russell Palmer RIP,” Beaver Island Forum, September 19–23, 2011. (and 2 further sources listed on the page).

Last revised 2026-08-09. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.

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