We mourn the loss of Joyce Palmer. Daughter, sister, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. A woman whose smile could brighten even the cloudiest of days. A woman whose generosity and compassion extended to all who knew her. A woman who shaped many lives and helped raise a village. Joyce died Wednesday, August 26, 2026, at home surrounded by her family.

Joyce was born on May 17, 1940, in Chamberlain, SD, to Harry and Mary (Plut) Labidee, the eldest of three children. She graduated in 1962 from South Dakota State University with a degree in math. She married Charles Palmer during their junior year of college, on September 9, 1961, and after graduation they quickly started a family, welcoming three children. After Charles' death in 1974, she raised her three children on her own and eventually moved to Dallas, TX, in 1980. In 1997, her eldest daughter, Jeanine, and three grandchildren moved in with her, and she helped raise the youngest two. Joyce retired from the University of Texas at Arlington, where she worked as a computer programmer. In 2021 she moved back to Rapid City with her two daughters, and from then until her passing she lived with Jeanine in their home. Deeply loved and cherished until her last breath, she was surrounded by the family she built as she walked hand in hand into God's kingdom, greeted by all those she had loved and lost, waiting with open arms.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Harry and Mary Labidee; her husband, Charles Palmer; and her brother, Doug Labidee.

Joyce is survived by her daughters, Jeanine Palmer, Rapid City, and Cathy Walter, Rapid City; her son, Jim Palmer, Arlington, TX; five grandchildren: David (April) Fast Horse, Frisco, TX; Zach Fast Horse, Las Colinas, TX; Sam Palmer, Rochester, NY; Ember Rhode, Aberdeen, SD; and Mariette Henke, Austin, TX; two great-grandchildren: Savannah (Roman) Turner-Graves and Ben Henke; and her sister, Susan Labidee-Flynn.

A vigil service will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 29, 2026, at Osheim & Schmidt Funeral Home, with visitation beginning at 5:30 p.m.

A Christian Funeral Mass will be offered at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, at St. Isaac Jogues Catholic Church. Burial will follow at Mt. Calvary Cemetery in Rapid City.