Karry Randy Palmer

Our hero, Karry Randy Palmer, took an unexpected departure Friday, January 24, 2014. He was a man of many talents, but the hero hat was firmly in place at all times. Randy and his wife Shauna were soul mates in the truest sense of the words. He loved her as much as she loved him and were completely inseparable from their very first date together in 1981 at Der Ratskeller Pizza. His passion for her never waned in all the 33 years they were together. Daughter Samantha (from Randy's previous marriage) was his only child and Shauna is considered by all to be Sammy's mom. Randy's daughter and only child Sammy meant everything to him and he always put his wife and daughter first.

Randy was a unique and special character. His love of life and exuberance and outrageous thought processes were so unusual and interesting, there's no other way to put it but to say he got in your DNA and stayed there. He was REAL and told people what he thought (sometimes even if you didn't want to hear it). He would shoot straight and wanted to know everything about what made people tick. Randy loved anything that runs on fuel. He was a font of knowledge and experience and could literally fix, build, or design anything that runs from, fuelie cars, and sand rails, high power boats, his skills with Austin Healey, BMW, Corvette, Chrysler, and Volkswagen/Audi and CNG are legendary. His love for vintage cars is known by all who knew him. He also had a great passion for all things military. His pride and joy was his 1952 Dodge Army Power Wagon (AKA Piggo) that he converted to a 350 Chevrolet gas engine with crossfire injection. Conversions were his specialty from 1960's vintage sleeper cars to high performance restoration and retrofits of any kind. In the 70s-80s he loved to go out in snowstorms with Shauna, and sometimes young Sammy, and look for people that need help getting out of the bar ditch with Piggo and never once took a penny for it.
He could make virtually anything on his lathe. His daily partner and cohort at his machine shop in the past year has been, Bobby Pankow. The daily adventures they had in the past 365 days were some of the very best in his life and they had plans together that would have redefined his life in 2014. Randy believed there was only one way out and he never had to compromise on that or experience physical limitations, because he never regained consciousness.  This was the right way, but too soon for us all. The tragic circumstances of last Wednesday, January 22, 2014 are unbearable to us all.

Born September 21, 1952 in Orangeburg, South Carolina to Jean Matesen Palmer (d. 2012), and John Robert Palmer (div.d. ~1980). Survived by the loves of his life, wife Shauna Lee (VanOstrand) (m.1983); daughter Samantha Lyn (b. 1976) (Scott Andrew Wood); sister Johnnie Lynn (David Quinn); granddaughters Alexandra Rose (age 7), and Larissa Pearl (age 3), fur-kid Vanessa the cat (AKA The Blimptuous Being).

His life was cut short and he should not have been taken from us, but we know he would not want us to mourn. We want to gather together and share stories of Randy and have time to be together and celebrate his MAJESTIC BEING.

A wake will be held on Thursday, January 30, 2014 from 6-8pm at Starks Funeral Parlor, 3691 South 900 East, Salt Lake City. Graveside services and interment will be held at the Mt Pleasant Cemetery, 100 East 900 South, in Mt. Pleasant, UT. Friday, January 31, 2014 at Noon.