Bascom Palmer Mills, Jr

Published 5:52 pm Wednesday, June 10, 2020

Bascom “Palmer” Mills, Jr, born in Jacksonville, Florida, on Nov. 8, 1933, was the youngest of  three children born of Bascom Palmer Mills and Lucy Mae White Mills.  Palmer was an active attendee at Landon High School in Jacksonville and later Mars Hill College, in Mars Hill, North Carolina, then William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, receiving a bachelors degree in Education.

Palmer enlisted in the Navy in January, 1955. He served in the Korean Conflict and reached the rank of Commanding Officer. While serving in the Navy, he married high school sweetheart, Patsy Ann Loving in December 1955. They relocated to Norfolk, Virginia. He would remain in the naval reserves until January 1963. 

Palmer and Pat had two sons, Kevin Glenn and Barry Keith. After a brief stint as a high school teacher, Palmer moved the family to Pine Mountain, Georgia, in 1967 to become conventions manager for Callaway Gardens.  Pine Mountain would be called home for the majority of his life. After leaving Callaway Gardens, Palmer owned and operated a Snap-On Tools truck and later owned and operated Pine Mountain’s only Western Auto store.

Very active in his church, the First Baptist Church of Pine Mountain, Palmer was a member of the choir (led by his wife Pat) and he led the congregation in singing.  They both would later reprise their roles at Woodland Baptist Church in Woodland.

Palmer was also a very active mason in the Chipley Lodge #40. He eventually rose to the rank of 33rd Degree Mason and became the 2011 Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Georgia.  As grand master he was responsible for the laying of many cornerstones throughout Georgia as well as a plaque commemorating President Franklin Delano Roosevelt at the Little White House in Warm Springs, Georgia.  In addition to being an active Mason, he also took pride in his role with the Scottish Rite.

Palmer was grandfather to Kevin’s children, Oliver and Lilly, and Barry’s daughter Chelsea.  Preceded in death by his parents, his sister Victoria Mae “Patsy” Lewis and his wife, Pat. Palmer leaves behind his sons, their children and his sister Ernestine Spiers of Ft. Pierce, Florida.