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Memorial services for David Arthur Palmer, 63, former resident of Craig, were at 9 a.m. Wednesday, July 26, at Redlands Community Church in Grand Junction.

Palmer died at his home in Grand Junction on July 22, 2006, after he was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor.

David was born Feb. 26, 1943, to James Herbert and Jessie Caroline (Kline) Palmer, at a Danish Baptist mission named Musema, in Rwanda, Burundi, Africa.

David was home-schooled during elementary grades by his mother.

After mission terms in Rwanda and Belgian Congo, the Palmer family left Africa in 1952 and moved to the Craig area, where David's mother was born and reared. David attended Craig Junior High School and Moffat County High School, graduating in May 1959.

After graduation, David enrolled at the University of Colorado at Boulder at age 16. After two years study at CU, he joined the Marine Corps and served for three years.

After finishing his Marine commitment, David returned to CU and was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science, cum laude, in 1967.

David began his career by serving as a staff journalist for the Denver and Cheyenne Bureaus of United Press International from 1967 to 1968.

David married Jacqueline Arbogast on June 26, 1971. David embraced and loved Jacqueline's two young daughters, Kim and Lisa Arbogast, and later, the family was blessed by the birth of daughter Jessica.

David served as press secretary and legislative assistant to Wyoming Rep. John A. Wold in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1968 to 1971.

From 1974 to 1978, he was employed by the U.S. Department of State Nuclear and Science Division's Office of Strategic Affairs. From August 1977 to June 1978, David served as acting chief of the division.

While in Washington, D.C., David studied at the National Law Center, George Washington University, which awarded him the Juris Doctor Degree in 1976. He was admitted to the Virginia Bar in 1977, the District of Columbia Bar in 1979 and the Colorado Bar in 1978.

In 1978, David moved his wife and three daughters to Grand Junction and started a general law practice.

For nearly 25 years, David served as part-time municipal court judge for the city of Grand Junction, dealing with traffic, misdemeanor and petty offenses.

He was active in COMACT Housing, the Mesa County Bar Association and Grand Junction Lions Club. He was a member and Sunday school teacher at the First Baptist Church.

David is survived by his wife, Jacqueline of Grand Junction; daughters, Kim (Richard) Weinstein of Falls Church, Va., Lisa (Wade) Wagner of Pavillion, Wyo., and Jessica (Thomas) Kramer of Washington, D.C.; six grandchildren; mother, Jessie Easterly of Clifton; sister, Ruth Rickerby of Palisade; brothers, James Palmer of Palisade, Philip Palmer of La Junta, and Jonathan Palmer of Grand Junction; and numerous aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews.

Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice and Palliative Care of Western Colorado, P.O. Box 60307, Grand Junction, CO 81506.