Dorothy Palmer

Dorothy Fox Morrow DeRisi Palmer, 92, passed away on Tuesday, March 8, 2016 at Hospice Ministries in Ridgeland. She was born on March 15, 1923 to the late Henry Theodore and Nannie Lee Gilliam Fox in Crichton, AL. Visitation will be held at Lakewood Funeral Home on Saturday, March 12, 2016 from 2:00-4:00 PM and again on Sunday from 1:00-2:00 PM. Funeral services will be held in the funeral home chapel on Sunday at 2:00 PM. Interment will be at Coy United Methodist Church in Preston, MS.

Dorothy grew up in Columbus, MS, played clarinet in the band and was active in her church. She was Miss Mississippi in 1942, and was elected Miss Congeniality in the Miss America contest. Marriage to Chuck Morrow and children soon followed and after 22 years they divorced. A few years later she met and married George DeRisi of Bronx , NY. There she worked for Bell System phone companies. She continued working for Continental Phone after they moved to Heathsville, VA, where they lived until his death in 1989 when she moved back home to Mississippi. There she met and married Tom Palmer and they lived in Clinton until his death in 2003. Dorothy lived with her daughter Madelyn in Clinton for several years until her health necessitated a final move to Compere Nursing Home in Jackson.

Dorothy was known for her happy, gentle disposition and beautiful smile which she shared often. She was talented and loved music, poetry, gardening and flowers. She was a founding member of Colonial Heights Baptist Church in Jackson where she was the pianist. She enjoyed ceramics, crocheting, sewing and reading. Her greatest joy was her children and grand children.

Dorothy was preceded in death by her husbands George DeRisi and Thomas Palmer; daughter, Nancy Morrow Farmer; grandson, David Farmer; brothers, Carl Weaver and H.T. Fox, Jr.; and sisters, Martha Fox Rowell, Clara Fox Wilder, and Primrose Fox Conner.

Dorothy is survived by her sister, Violet Fox Remski; daughters, Madelyn Morrow Matijevich and Shannon Morrow (Emmett) Shumate; eight grandchildren; seventeen great grandchildren; one great-great grandchild and many wonderful nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Alzheimer’s Association, The MIND Center at UMMC, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation or Diabetes Foundation.

Please visit www.lakewoodfuneralhomes.com to view Dorothy’s online guestbook.