BANGOR, Maine — Dr. Thomas Palmer, a longtime Bangor surgeon, died Tuesday night at his home on Garland Street.
Palmer, who was 84 years old, underwent surgery and treatment for lung cancer last spring, but the cancer recurred in January, said Palmer’s daughter Anne Graham. Graham, a pediatric nurse practitioner who lives in North Yarmouth, said her father died peacefully and was cared for throughout his final weeks by friends, family and compassionate professional caregivers.
“He was a very old-time physician and so committed to his patients,” Graham said.
Palmer, who grew up in the Boston area, served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and graduated in 1948 from Tufts University Medical School in Boston. In 1954, while completing surgical residencies in Boston and Bangor, Palmer married Mary Ellen Herlihy, the daughter of a Bangor physician. In 1955, he established surgical practices at Eastern Maine General Hospital — now Eastern Maine Medical Center — and St. Joseph Hospital. Palmer practiced in Bangor until his retirement in 1989.
“He fell in love with Maine and never left,” Graham said.
The Palmer family, including the couple’s five children, lived for many years on the corner of State Street and Summit Avenue, across from EMMC. They also had a summer home on Hancock Point. Mary Ellen Palmer died in 2001.
Graham said her father will be remembered in many ways, including for his dedication to his patients and his profession, his respectful relationship with nurses and other hospital staff, his passion for gardening, and the recent publication of “Cracked Marbles,” a humorous and affectionate collection of fictional stories based on his years of practice in Maine.
Book signings last fall brought hundreds of old friends and colleagues back into her father’s life, Graham said.
“It was so wonderful for him to have that experience,” she said. “He knew everyone; he remembered everyone.”
Palmer also was lovingly remembered Wednesday by surgeon Robert Bach, who practiced with Palmer from 1985 to 1992 and remained a personal friend. Bach, who recently earned his master of divinity degree from the Bangor Theological Seminary and practices palliative medicine at EMMC, said Palmer made an immediate impression on him.
“I soon realized he was someone who took care of people, as well as patients,” Bach said. For example, he said, “Tom would never say, ‘I’ve got a gall bladder in Room 304.’ He’d say, ‘I removed Mrs. Jones’ gall bladder on Thursday and she can go home on Saturday — and by the way, did you know her father was the first sheriff in Piscataquis County?’ There was always some kind of personal tidbit. All his patients were like his friends.”
Visiting hours are scheduled from 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday, March 15, at the Brookings-Smith funeral home on Center Street in Bangor. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Monday, March 16, at St. John Catholic Church on York Street.
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