Palmer, William
PALMER, III, William F. "Bill"
William (Bill) F. Palmer III was born in the Bronx on February 15, 1950 to William F. Palmer and Frances Rose Palmer. Bill passed away on December 1, 2020 after a hard-fought battle with pancreatic cancer at the age of 70. He leaves behind his wife, Candy, son Shawn (Courtney) and grandson, Henry, along with his siblings, Keith Palmer and Lois Collier and their extended families.
Bill, having been raised in the Atlanta area, founded Applebee's in 1980 in Decatur, Georgia. After selling the Applebee's concept in the mid 1980's, he became a franchisee and actively continued in a leadership advisory role up until his passing. Bill cared so deeply about this Brand and all those who helped to build and nurture this concept. He was able to celebrate Applebee's 40th Anniversary this past month and was deeply touched by the outpouring of love by those he has impacted over the years. Bill will be remembered not only for the legacy he created but also for his roles as a loving husband, an amazing father, a friend to everyone and a mentor to all. His larger-than-life personality and sense of humor coupled with his intellect and creativity made him so very special to everyone who knew him.
Private services will be held at a later date. However, for those that wish to honor his memory, Bill was passionate in his support of Purple Pansies, a non-profit organization funding research for this horrific cancer. They may be reached through purplepansies.org.
