Golf legend's brother was 'amazing' single dad

After his father died, Jerry Palmer took the reins of his family's Latrobe Country Club business, quietly working alongside his much older and well-known brother, Arnold — a man he loved and idolized, and a golfer who defined the sport.

“My dad, he loved his family,” Amanda Palmer of Ligonier said. “He loved people, he loved being on the golf course and he really loved animals.”

Milfred Jerome “Jerry” Palmer Jr. of Latrobe died Saturday, Nov. 19, 2016, at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh. He was 72.

Mr. Palmer was the second-youngest of Doris and Jerome “Deacon” Palmer Sr.'s four children, with 15 years separating him from his oldest sibling, Arnold. He was 11 when his brother won the 1954 U.S. Amateur Championship.

“Really, there hasn't been a time in my life when he wasn't a celebrity,” Jerry Palmer told interviewer Chris Rodell in a 2007 edition of Kingdom Magazine. “Even when I was a really little kid, he was always getting headlines and honors for his golf. And, yeah, I idolized him.”

He told the magazine that he found the game “frustrating,” but was fine with there being just one great golfer in the family.

Mr. Palmer served in the Air Force and graduated from Penn State University with an associate degree in turf grass management.

Mr. Palmer became a single father when Amanda was a newborn and his son, Deken, was 16 months old, his daughter said.

“He was amazing. He did it with gusto,” Amanda Palmer said. “Everybody pitched in. ... My aunts and cousins were there for him. But when it came down to it, it was just the three of us.”

His love of animals manifested itself in an affinity for all living creatures — dogs and horses in particular, his daughter said. He regularly donated to the Humane Society.

Mr. Palmer shared in his brother's glory, meeting many celebrities and politicians who played rounds with his legendary brother. But he also got to know many luminaries in his own way, including Pittsburgh Steelers players and coaches who would golf in Latrobe during preseason practices at St. Vincent College.

“We were lucky enough to meet many amazing and well-known people in the course of our lives,” Amanda Palmer said.

His father had worked at Latrobe Country Club since he was a teenage laborer during its construction in the 1920s, and Arnold Palmer bought the club in 1971. Jerry Palmer started working under his father in 1975 and took over as superintendent in 1976. He retired in 2010 but stayed on to give tours until about the time of his brother's death in September, said Herb Scribe, lodging and clubhouse operations manager.

Mr. Palmer helped expand and maintain the club to its current state, updated the clubhouse and added a “play-and-stay” program in which the public could golf and stay in guest houses on the property.

“It wasn't like an employer relationship; it was like family,” Scribe said. “Jerry was very influential in getting that across to us, that we treat people the way (Arnold) Palmer wanted to be treated.

“The club will maintain that as if they were here.”

In addition to his daughter, Mr. Palmer is survived by his son, Deken M. Palmer, 40, of Washington D.C.; sisters, Lois Jean Tilley of Latrobe, and Sandy Sarni of Ligonier; and two grandchildren.

A memorial service is planned for noon on Tuesday at Unity Chapel, 114 Chapel Lane, Latrobe.

Memorials may be made to Action for Animals, P.O. Box 814, Latrobe, Pa. 15650.

Matthew Santoni is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-836-6660 or msantoni@tribweb.com.