Global Ministries is saddened to learn of the death of Reverend Mary Maxine Palmer.

The Rev. Mary Maxine Palmer, 97, passed away Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023.

She was a life-long Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) minister and missionary. A TCU graduate, she was ordained into the ministry in 1947, when she was 21. The next year she married the love of her life, Rev. Dr. Ralph T. Palmer. The two served as missionaries in Chinatown, NYC, on the Yakama Reservation, in Jamaica, and in Japan. When they returned home, she traveled all over the United States as a speaker for the Division of Overseas Ministries (now known as Disciples Overseas Ministries). She and Ralph served in several churches throughout Texas. She was very active in the Disciples national women’s ministries and became director of the Southwest Region. She also taught school in Henderson, Texas ISD. In 2001, she and Ralph were awarded the Distinguished Ministers Award.

Survivors: Two daughters, Angella Branch and husband, Mike and Celeste Palmer; grandchildren, Yvonne, JT (Emily), Tamica, Anthony, and Bianca; six great-grandchildren, Adrian, Arselyah, Alyus, Edalyne, Athena, and a new baby boy; and several nieces and nephews.