MOUNT SOLON – Roberta McDaniel Palmer, 81, of Mount Solon, died Wednesday (November 20, 2019) in her home. 

Born September 1, 1938 in Wilmington, Del., she was the daughter of Elmer Jalmer. McDaniel and Rebecca May (Seaman) McDaniel.   

She was a 1956 graduate of Nelson County High School.  Roberta was a charter member of Calvary Baptist Church in Staunton and also attended Christian Fellowship Baptist Church for many years.  She enjoyed serving as a Girls’ Auxiliary teacher, Sunday school teacher and youth leader. A retired bookkeeper, Roberta was employed by Smith Transfer for seven years, and then by Augusta Cooperative Farm Bureau for 36 years. She loved traveling and camping, and especially enjoyed excursions to Montebello and other mountain destinations.  She also enjoyed handcrafts and painting. 

She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Robert J. McDaniel. 

Surviving are her husband, William Payne “Bill” Palmer, whom she married October 20, 1962; a daughter, Carlene Palmer Cearley and husband Greg of Cary, NC; a sister-in-law, Lil McDaniel of Richmond; two grandchildren, Chandler Cearley of Brooklyn, N.Y. and Caroline Cearley of Winston-Salem, N.C.; and a special cousin, Diane Huffer of Swoope. 

A funeral service will be held 11 a.m. Saturday, November 23 in Calvary Baptist Church, Staunton, officiated by Pastor Bobby Campbell.  Burial will follow in Oak Lawn Memory Gardens.  Active pallbearers will be Greg and Chandler Cearley, Jon Cromer, Bobby Sims, Robert Gilbert, and Todd Ashby.  Honorary pallbearers will be Bill Henry, John Hartless, Johnny Bishop, Joe Wright, and Milton Grady.

The family will receive friends before the service, beginning at 9:30. 

Memorials may be directed to Calvary Baptist Church, 105 Garland Drive, Staunton, VA  24401. 

Bear Funeral Home is serving the family.  Condolences may be expressed to the family online at bearfuneralhome.com.

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