Ruby “Arby” Maxwell Palmer, 81, passed away on July 29 in Oaxaca, Mexico after a brief illness.
She is survived by her daughter Catherine Palmer Winkjer (Jonathan) of Peachtree City, Ga., son David Maxwell Palmer of Oaxaca, Mexico, grandchildren Charles Byron Rafford, Jr., Aimee Catherine Cain, and Grace Elizabeth Cain, and great-grandson Charles Byron Rafford III.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 55 years, George David Palmer III, her son Howard Collins Palmer and her parents, Howard Hilliard Maxwell and Ruby Belcher Maxwell.
Born in Tuscaloosa on October 27, 1931, Arby grew up in Northport, Ala. and attended Tuscaloosa County schools. She graduated from Stephens College in Columbia, Mo. and the University of Ala., where she was a member of Alpha Gamma Delta social sorority.
After teaching elementary school in Tuscaloosa County, she and her husband moved to Birmingham in 1959 to raise their family. She later earned a graduate degree in education from UAB and taught fourth grade at Cherokee Bend Elementary for several years in the late 1960s.
Arby was an active member of Canterbury United Methodist Church, where she was a long-time member of the JOY Sunday School Class and participated in Stephen Ministry. A music-lover, she played piano for children’s Sunday School classes at Canterbury for many years. She was a core leader in Community Bible Study and active in The Charity League and the Silhouettes Dance Club.
A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, August 5 in the chapel at Canterbury. Visitation will take place before the service from 9:30 to 11 a.m. in the church parlor. Private burial at Elmwood Cemetery will follow the service.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to Canterbury United Methodist Church, 350 Overbrook Road, Birmingham, Ala. 35213, or to a charity of your choice. Services are under the direction of Ridout’s Valley Chapel, 879-3401, Homewood.
