Mrs. Janice Gibbs Palmer

Janice Alethia Gibbs Palmer was born to the late Leroy and Lucille Grant Gibbs on November 16, 1957. She transitioned from this life on Thursday, February 2, 2017. She furthered her education and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from SC State University and her Master of Education degree from Cambridge University in Cambridge, MA in 2002. As an Educator Janice’s first teaching experience, was at the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) in Columbia, SC where she worked for nine years before accepting a position as a math teacher at Summit Parkway Middle School in 1991. She served on the Selective Committee for Teacher of the Year for the Richland II School District and was chosen Pro-team Teacher of the Year. She was also selected Teacher in Residence at the SC Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention & Advancement (CEERA) at Winthrop University. This earned her a two-year sabbatical from regular teaching responsibilities. During that time, Janice served all SC school districts and institutions of higher education with teacher education programs in the state; helping to provide collaborative leadership in the recruitment, retention, and advancement of outstanding educators for all children in SC. Mrs. Palmer was loved by her students and cohorts and known to be a no-nonsense teacher, who was firm, fair and consistent. Janice retired in September, 2014. Life and Ministry Early in life, under the leadership of Father Stephen B. Mackey, Janice accepted Christ as her personal Savior at St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Charleston, SC. During her college years, she attended Faith Tabernacle Deliverance Temple in Orangeburg, SC where Bishop Ronald E. Brown is Pastor. When she married Larry Palmer on April 25, 1981, she joined the church. She was an enthusiastic and committed member who was involved in a variety of activities to include serving on the Mass Choir, working as a volunteer in the church’s administrative office, and serving as Sunday school teacher for the teens. See how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth who went about doing good… Acts 10:38. Janice was blessed with the Gift of Helps and went about doing good. The gift of helps is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the body of Christ to invest the talents they have in the life and ministry of other members of the body, thus enabling them to increase the effectiveness of their own spiritual gifts. One of her most cherished responsibilities was to serve as Director of the Hospitality Committee at Faith Tabernacle. She organized Cell groups recognizing birthdays and visited the sick. She led in prison ministry, established the Loving Touch Juvenile Prison Ministry; she made encouraging phone calls, spent long hours on highways traveling to meet the needs of others, and while completing many loving and compassionate deeds on an almost daily basis that are too numerous to mention here. As a Person Janice might have been described by her students as a firm but loving disciplinarian. Most who really knew her would say that she was a faithful volunteer, that she had a beautiful smile and a positive attitude; that she was tenacious, unselfish, dedicated, committed, beloved, compassionate, energetic, hardworking, timely, and tireless. She was well loved, an encourager, gave warm hugs, and insisted that you “eat right.” Everyone loved her Banana Pudding and Watergate Salad and often requested those things from her. Her hobby was couponing; nothing was to be bought full price! She also enjoyed computer games and watching the Game Show network. Her Family Mrs. Palmer was preceded in death by her parents and a sister, Ada Grant. Left to cherish loving memories are her husband, Larry; three children, Donnell Aaron Palmer, Danielle Alethia Palmer, and Donovan Alonzo Palmer, all of Columbia, SC; two grand-daughters, Jordynn Alethia Palmer and Jasmyn Laisha Jackson; five sisters, Sheryl Pittman, Charleston, SC; Vermatine “Chuckie” Williams, Raeford, NC; Lynn Buncum, Charleston, SC; Sheriah (Benny) Perkins, Charleston, SC; Kathleen (Troy) McClain, Charleston, SC; four brothers, Clifford (Tracey) Graham, Charleston, SC; Earl Gibbs, Moncks Corner, SC; James (Angela) Gibbs, Moncks Corner, SC; Lucius (Jeanette) Gibbs, Knightsville, SC; a mother-in-law, Mother Pearl Palmer, Pinewood, SC; five, sisters-in-law, Carrie Palmer, Apex, NC; Leala Palmer, Columbia, SC; Carline Chukwulobe, Columbia, SC; Shirley (Dennis) Davis, Orangeburg, SC; Linda Palmer, Orangeburg, SC; five brothers-in-law, John (Sharon) Thompson, Moncks Corner, SC: Alex (Clayretta) Palmer, Columbia, SC; Arthur (Corine) Thompson, Moncks Corner, SC; Jeremiah (Connie) Palmer, Columbia, SC; Leroy (Beulah) Palmer, Manning, SC; twenty-eight nieces, twenty-two nephews, fifty-four grand nieces and nephews, and a host of other relatives and friends.

Mrs. Janice Gibbs Palmer

November 16, 1957 - February 2, 2017