Former state veterinarian Ralph Palmer ’43 died Nov. 23, 2018, at Avera Bormann Manor in Parkston.
Palmer was born May 7, 1921, on the family homestead north of Gregory. He attended country school for eight years, graduated in 1939 as co-valedictorian from Gregory High School, served as state FFA president in 1939-40, enrolled at South Dakota State College in 1939 and graduated in 1943, when he enlisted in the U.S. Army. Palmer served in the infantry and was honorably discharged in 1946.
He married Luella Larson June 1, 1946, in Lake Preston, and he taught vo-ag at Worthington, Minnesota, for two years.
In 1948, Palmer enrolled in the first veterinary medicine class at the University of Minnesota. Upon graduation, he moved to Parkston and operated a veterinarian practice. When he lost sight in one eye, it became difficult for him to perform surgeries, so he retired from the practice and served as area veterinarian for the State Livestock Sanitary Board.
Palmer was state veterinarian in 1976-78 and then worked as area veterinarian until retirement in 1991.
In 1997, he became the first veterinarian to be inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame. In 2000, he was inducted into the Lions Club Hall of Fame and received the Distinguished Alumni Award from SDSU in 2001.
He was well-known for his community service in Parkston. He led a fundraising effort for a veterans’ memorial that was dedicated in 1995 and an Avenue of Flags that was dedicated in 1996.
