Richard “Dick” Simmons Palmer of Newport, R.I., passed away peacefully at home on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018, surrounded by family and friends. 

He was born April 18, 1927, the son of John Simmons Palmer and Abbey Greene of Bristol, R.I. He was a graduate of Providence Country Day School and Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, and married Cynthia McCaw on Aug. 21, 1948. The Palmers lived in Barrington where they enjoyed raising their five children in a great Victorian house on the water.

Dick and Cynthia moved to Newport in 1976 where they enjoyed an active social and community life. Dick was an avid gardener and often shared his beautifully landscaped home for Secret Garden tours. He enjoyed many years of tennis and theater-going and traveled extensively. He and Cynthia loved to dance especially to the sound of the Big Band. He was a member of Hazards and Baileys Beach Clubs, The Reading Room, The Clambake Club, and the Squantum Club of East Providence, where he served as president. His passions, besides gardening, were his model trains and cheering on his NY Yankees.

Dick generously donated to several island charities and supported the Newport Historical Society, the Newport Music Festival, and Providence Performing Arts Center. He was an avid birder and supporter of the Audubon Society of R. I. He was a long time member of St. Columba’s Chapel of Middletown, R.I., where he served on the vestry and was instrumental in their building projects and fund raisers. His enthusiastic Alleluia's at the end of each service will always be remembered!

He was predeceased by his wife Cynthia, his son Mark, his brother Julius, and his sisters, Betty, Fran, Ruth and Jane. He will be greatly missed by his children, Laura Lee and her husband Richard, John and his wife Mary Carol, Richmond, Arthur and his wife Ellis; daughters-in-law Maureen, Kathleen, and Patti; and his six grandchildren, Richard, Sarah, Isaiah, Matthew, David, and Mathew.

The family will receive guests at Memorial Funeral Home, 375 Broadway, Newport, on Friday, Aug. 31, from 4-7 p.m. Funeral services will be held at St. Columba’s Chapel, 55 Vaucluse Ave., Middletown, on Saturday, Sept. 1, at 11 a.m.

Donations in Richard's name for St. Columba's Chapel, 55 Vaucluse Ave., Middletown, RI 02842; or Visiting Nurse Home & Hospice, 1184 East Main Road, Portsmouth, RI 02871.

Online tribute at www.memorialfuneralhome.com.