Winifred (Winnie) Palmer

Winifred (Winnie) Isabel Palmer, age 71, of Frederick succumbed to cancer on the evening of October 9, 2012 at Frederick Memorial Hospital. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, she had been a resident of Frederick since 1972. She is survived by John Wise, her companion of 30 years and husband of nearly seven, and a sister, Emily Goldstein of Brooklyn.

Winifred Palmer was trained in biochemistry and had over 30 years of experience working in the areas of cancer research, toxicity assessment, and occupational health. She received her PhD from the University of Connecticut and did postdoctoral research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Subsequently, as a toxicologist she was involved in the health effects associated with industrial and environmental chemicals. She had experience developing water and air quality exposure standards and was involved with development of acute and chronic exposure limits for smokes and obscurants, nerve agents, and industrial chemicals as an employee/consultant to the U.S. Army. She was also involved in cancer research at the Frederick Cancer Research Facility and in animal carcinogenicity tests of environmental and industrial chemicals under contract to the National Cancer Institute and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

Throughout her career she published extensively, received numerous awards, and most recently was given a commendation by the American Welding Society for her contribution to welder safety as author of ten volumes of the Effects of Welding on Health. She also served proudly as a member of the Frederick County Sustainability Commission.

Winnie’s passions included playing the violin in amateur string groups and nature with its’ beauty and wild creatures of all sorts, particularly frogs and snakes.

Memorial contributions may be made to station WBJC-FM, 6776 Reisterstown Road, Baltimore, MD 21215 or NRDC (National Resources Defense Council) online or Sierra Club, 85 Second Street, 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105. An informal gathering of Winnie’s friends is planned for the end of this month with details available at wiseart@aol.com.

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