Skip to content

Elizabeth Norah Palmer

March 2, 2007

Elizabeth Norah

PALMER (nee Cole)

1931 ~ 2007

Elizabeth Norah Palmer (nee Cole), beloved best friend and wife of Peter Rodney Palmer, passed away on Friday, March 2, 2007 at the age of 75 years after a courageous fight with cancer. Norah, the youngest child of Elizabeth Cole and Thomas Stevenson Cole, was born on October 27, 1931 in Westfield, New Jersey, USA. Norah’s early years were spent in Ottawa after her family immigrated as settlers via Ogdensburg, NJ and Prescott, ON. To her great surprise, she discovered in her late 30s that she was in fact a landed immigrant and quickly applied for citizenship to become the proud Canadian she always thought she had been! After graduating from high school in Ottawa, Norah attended the Ottawa Normal School and soon after accepted a position teaching grades 1 and 2 in Gravenhurst, ON. It is in Gravenhurst where she met Peter Palmer and was lovingly welcomed into the Palmer family, becoming Peter’s wife on April 9, 1955. In 1955, Peter and Norah bravely moved west where they called Vancouver, and then Richmond home. It is in Richmond that they raised their three children, Tracey, Lysle and Bret before moving to the Comox Valley in 1990. Moving to the Comox Valley proved to be the best thing they ever did as Norah truly found the city of her dreams and the place that she came to love the most. Norah has been a member of Beta Sigma Phi (Laureate Beta Sigma Chapter) and the St. John the Divine Women’s Guild for many years. She was revered for her honesty, integrity and loyalty to these associations. Ever a bright spirit and confidant for her many friends, Norah gave the best of herself in every circumstance. Norah dedicated herself to the love and affection she held for Peter, with whom her final years were spent sharing a joy and love for family and friends while also sharing the tales of their past, the responsibilities of their present, and the dreams of their future. Her passing will surely leave a chasm of emptiness in the hearts of her loved ones and cherished friends, to be filled only with loving memories of her good and sweet nature. Besides her loving husband, Peter, Norah is survived and will be sadly missed by her daughters: Tracey and her husband, Andrew Bitcon and their children, Ron and Krista and by Lysle and her husband, Ron Barmby and their children, Jesse, Rebecca and Brett, all of Calgary, AB. She will be held in fond memory by her son, Bret Palmer and his children, Nicola and Ava of Surrey, BC. Norah is survived by her sister, Ursula Todd and her brother, James (Ann) Cole and Doris Palmer. She is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews across Canada and by lifelong, good friends, Isabelle and Hendry Simpson, Don and Cecily Poole and Bob and Jackie Scott. Norah was predeceased by her brother, George (Maureen) Cole; sister-in-law, Lysle Young; brothers-in-law, Arthur Todd, Bert Palmer and Erik Erikson.

Those wishing to pay their respects may do so at St. John the Divine Anglican Church, 579-5th Street, Courtenay on Thursday, March 8, 2007 at 3:00 pm. If friends so desire, a donation in Norah’s memory may be made to the St. Joseph’s Hospital Foundation, “Chemo Department”.



Your condolences will be approved within one business day. You will need a valid Facebook account. Please email us if you have any questions.