Berenice De Luca Palmer

…even the weariest river

Winds somewhere safe to sea.

A.C. Swinburne

Berenice De Luca Palmer died at 103 years old on June 4, 2021,

surrounded by loving family. The cause of death was late onset

pancreatic cancer. Born in 1917, Berenice had many stories of growing

up in Atlantic City in its heyday, on the beach and the

boardwalk. Berenice was an avid reader and writer of poetry, and her

poems were first published in her teenage years. She attended nursing

school, but withdrew to care for her mother, who died in 1941. In July of

1944, Berenice lost her only brother, Dan Jr. when his Navy plane was

shot down over Guam. This re-enforced her life-long belief that all war

must end. Despite this, she joined the Navy in December of 1944 and

served as a pharmacist’s mate and a stenographer. A shorthand pro,

Berenice recorded secret discussions between anthropologists and

politicians who would later form the UN. She also witnessed the advent

of penicillin and guided Helen Keller during a visit to wounded soldiers.

After discharge, she studied journalism at Rutgers. Berenice married

Victor Palmer in 1949 in NYC. They moved to Solvang, California and

in May 1952, twins Claude and Teresa Palmer were born. Berenice

became a writer for the Solvang newspaper, and after moving to the SF

Bay area in 1964, she wrote for the Pacifica Tribune. Berenice loved the

alternative and anti-war culture of the ‘60s & ‘70s in San Francisco and

attended anti-Vietnam war demonstrations as well as many concerts in

Golden Gate Park. In 1971, Berenice and Victor moved to the Castro

district of SF, where she wrote for the Castro Star. Her lively home and

expandable Italian dinners were a joy to friends and family. When she

left her keys dangling in the door one morning, she called neighbor

Harvey Milk, who kept them at his camera shop for her to pick up later.

Berenice’s only sister, Teresa Martin, moved with her family from NY

to California in 1962, and all of the cousins continue to be close. Teresa

died in 1997. Berenice is survived by 3 younger generations of close

family who share her enthusiasm for writing, poetry, and music, and her

belief in ending all forms of war. Berenice will be buried at the Presidio

National Cemetery in San Francisco after a small service, joining her

beloved husband Victor, who died in 1990. A memorial gathering will

be planned after the birth of her fourth great granddaughter in July