Palmer left big impression
Former Oklahoma running back Steve Owens and current Mustang coach Mike McGarry said Bob Palmer was loved by his athletes in Oklahoma and California. The Oklahoman salutes Palmer and other people with state ties who enjoyed the game day experience.
A farewell to people with Oklahoma ties who enjoyed the game day experience:
•Bob Palmer, 84, of La Quinta, Calif., was a longtime coach who made a stop at Miami High School in northeastern Oklahoma. He was an assistant football coach with the Wardogs, who were then led by future OU running back and Heisman Trophy winner Steve Owens.
Palmer moved to California and coached track and cross country teams at Lowell High School. The Cardinals won several state cross country championships under Palmer; one of his runners was current Mustang High cross country coach Mike McGarry.
Palmer left an impression on McGarry, Owens and many other athletes.
“He was an amazing athlete,” McGarry said of Palmer, who also spent 33 years in the Army, either active or reserve. “He was a great motivator. We all loved him.”
McGarry said Palmer was not overly big but could bench press 500 pounds. He covered 100 yards in 10-flat. Palmer played football at a small teachers’ college in Kansas now known as Pittsburg State University.
He was scouted by NFL teams until suffering a severe knee injury when Rosey Grier, a future Fearsome Foursome defensive lineman with the Los Angeles Rams, fell on his leg.
McGarry said he met Owens, and they discussed Palmer. Owens told McGarry that Palmer “was the best coach I ever had.”
•Elwood Estes, 89, of Elk City. The World War II veteran was a big basketball fan. He particularly enjoyed watching the small school state playoffs each spring.
•Woody Dancer, 69, of Moore. He played football for the Odessa Permian Panthers football program, long before Mojo and the book “Friday Night Lights” became part of Texas high school lore. He helped the Panthers win the 1965 state championship — the first of six titles for the Class 5A school in west Texas. A Vietnam veteran.
•Marion Hankins Lensgraf, 92, of Oklahoma City. She was a member of the cheer squad at Lebanon High School in her native Tennessee.
•Kent Lee, 73, of Norman wrestled at Classen High School under coach Phil Dalke. Lee became a wrestling coach himself; he coached at Lawton Eisenhower High, schools in Texas and Monroney Junior High in Midwest City, where one of his pupils was Mike
Gundy, now head football coach at Oklahoma State. Lee was a Vietnam veteran who was given an Expert Infantryman Badge, an Army award reserved for some of its best soldiers.
•Sheldon Trimble, 53, of Olathe, Kan., was a basketball player at Bartlesville Sooner High School in 1982. The OU and Central Oklahoma graduate was self employed.
•Patsy Baker Neustadt, 91, of Ardmore. She managed the ticket office for the Ardmore Shrine Club’s rodeo.
•Tommy Sampson Jr., 54, of Moore. He drove modified race cars at State Fair Speedway. He was a machinist and owner of Custom Cylinder Heads.
•Vonnell Stubblefield Lacy, 85, of Yukon. She starred in basketball at Hammon High School, where she graduated in 1950. She started working for Southwestern Bell in 1951 and retired 32 years later.
•Dr. Dennis Clark, 68, of Siler City, N.C., spent more than 45 years in the ministry. A former resident of Guthrie, Midwest City and Pond Creek, Clark played church league softball. While living in Denver, Clark became a huge fan of football’s Broncos, baseball’s Rockies and basketball’s Nuggets.
•Jeff Johnson, 59, of Tulsa. He played for the mighty Jenks Trojans’ football program as well as basketball and baseball. Johnson liked to go hunting and fishing.
Johnson earned an architecture degree from Oklahoma State and was a big Cowboys sports fan. Family and friends were asked to wear orange at his service.
•Lisa Taylor Cochran, 54, of Warr Acres was in the pep club at Putnam City West High School. Cochran recruited participants for the Race for the Cure. She spent 33 years working for OG&E and volunteered for the United Way.
•R.A. Willis, 89, of Tulsa was an exceptional bowler. He had several perfect 300 games and was inducted into the Crystal City Bowling Hall of Fame in Missouri. Willis enjoyed traveling to tournaments with his wife
Loretta. R.A. and Loretta also made trips to Canada and Mexico for fishing. He also found time to coach youth league baseball for several years. R.A. was in the tire business by trade.