Sue Raulerson Palmer

Fifty years in a few paragraphs~ that’s a challenge, but here goes!
College life began at Northwestern and continued at Cornell, where I enjoyed Sue Mair (Holden’s) company as roommate during our junior year.  We also spent a summer together in a remote village of Guatemala, as part of a team under the auspices of Cornell United Religious Works.  I don’t recall too much about the religious part, but we had some crazy, amazing adventures doing work similar to the Peace Corps.

Upon graduation, I was recruited by my sorority, Alpha Phi, to be Field Advisor~ a job best described as going to college(s) without having to take any classes!  I did this for three years until I decided to grow up, and get a real job ~ an administrative assistant in a Greek city planning firm, based in Georgetown, Washington, DC.  My “work” primarily consisted of planning going-away parties, and since the Greek bosses were male divas, there was a lot of going-away, so never a dull moment.

In 1968 I married Steve Layton, and we lived in Hyde Park, while he was getting an advanced degree at the University of Chicago.  There I worked in the Committee on Human Development, and had a brief vacation while we were locked out of the building during the famous National Democratic Convention ’68.  After graduation, we settled in Fairfield, Connecticut, and became the parents of two wonderful daughters.  Eventually, we divorced, but readily agree our girls are just fantastic ~ one an Emmy winner, the other a manager for Xerox, both in Manhattan.  A bonus, my first grandchild, is due in July!

I had always enjoyed “playing pots and pans” and, in the early 70’s, developed a catering business, initially from my home kitchen, which expanded, eventually, to a substantial enterprise.  When I reflect on those weekends with 8 weddings of 200-500 each, parties for celebrities, sports figures, and even US Presidents, I think: wow!  Those were such exciting times!  I could~and just might~ write a book about the outrageous, frustrating, and rewarding experiences that seemed to occur daily.  Have lots to say about Martha~ but then, I might be sent to jail!

In 1993, Bill Palmer, a former ad executive, and I, married.  Our wedding, and marriage, seems to have attracted some unsolicited publicity; for more details, you can check this link to a New York Times video, made last year.
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/06/12/fashion/weddings/1194840817267/vows-state-of-the-unions.html?ref=weddings

I was feeling ready to retire, and an orchestrated buyout enabled me to shed the apron, and to shake up our domestic geography a bit.  After experimenting with winters in Savannah, GA, and summers in New Canaan, we’ve homed in on Kiawah Island, SC, outside Charleston, for the majority of the year.  Bill oversaw every detail of the construction of this home, located on a creek, within a quick bike ride of the Atlantic Ocean.  Summers we head back to CT, to a classic 1930’s cottage, totally rehabbed by Bill, on Candlewood Isle, in New Fairfield. Two versions of paradise….

I still do some pro-bono spatula-flipping for selected fund-raising events:  Charleston Ballet Theatre, Habitat for Humanity, Charleston Symphony Orchestra, and I make sure we tear ourselves away from home, and our trio of Shih Tzu’s, to see the world, while we’re still in good shape.  So far, my family’s top vacation adventure was an African safari.  I’ve never been a zoo aficionado, but seeing the fabulous animals up close and personal was beyond any expectation. Just watching others bungee-jumping at Victoria Falls was a thrill, and wine-tasting in South Africa just delicious.

And, speaking of expectations, I am truly looking forward to our reunion, and catching up in person.  Kudos in advance to all the organizers who’ve been, obviously, working very hard ~ see you soon!

Bill and Sue Palmer, Chiles and Bernice Cole Larson

Bill and Sue with friends