Richard D. Parmer

Richard D. Parmer, known to most as “Dick”, passed away peacefully at his home in Annville, surrounded by his family, on Saturday, October 7, 2023. Born Tuesday, March 16, 1948 in Lancaster, he was the son of the late Robert and Caroline (McComsey) Parmer. He was married to the love of his life, Sally A. (Barnhart) Parmer, for 53 beautiful years, during which time they enjoyed so many adventures together. Dick and Sally especially enjoyed time spent with their family, which often included camping trips, family dinners and picnics, holiday celebrations and traveling. Dick also cherished the time he spent on the diamond coaching Jeff’s baseball and Tracy’s softball teams.

Dick was a 1967 graduate of Elizabethtown Area High School and in 1968, was drafted by the United States Army to serve his country in Vietnam. After returning home, he began his working career as a farmer at the Milton Hershey School. It was also here where Dick built his life and family with Sally. After several years of working on the farms, Dick moved his family to Annville and translated the skills he learned over the years into his next profession as a diesel mechanic working for Penn Detroit Diesel. Dick’s extraordinary skills were recognized by the Allison Transmission Guild, of which he was a proud member. Dick retired from Penn Detroit Diesel at the age of 60, setting the stage for time to enjoy all the freedoms retirement offers, which immediately included a tradition of having morning coffee with neighbors. Dick enjoyed walking the neighborhood (the Horseshoe); a stroll that should only take 15 minutes, but that typically took him upwards of an hour because he stopped to chat with neighbors all along the way. Dick also enjoyed working on cars and fixing small engines, welding, gardening and just being outdoors. Each fall, you could find Dick in the back yard splitting wood to heat his house. On summer weekends, Dick loved “whacking em” aka, fishing for small mouth bass, on the Susquehanna River, on his boat with his kids by his side. Dick’s “get er’ done” attitude paved the way for many unplanned adventures and accomplishments throughout the course of every single day. Later in life, Dick found great pleasure in creations he made in his woodshop for the sole purpose of giving each away to his family and friends.

Surviving in addition to his wife are his two children: Jeffrey R. Parmer (Jolynne Strobel) of Jonestown; Tracy A. Sweet Parmer (Chae Sweet Parmer) of Mohrsville; and his “adopted daughter” Xufang Li and her two children; Tianyu Bu and Jason Bu, and two brothers Robert Parmer and Gardiner Parmer (Nancy). Dick was predeceased by his older brother Ronald Parmer.

A Celebration of Dick’s Life will be held on Friday, October 13, 2023 at Rothermel-Finkenbinder Funeral Home, 25 West Pine Street, Palmyra, PA 17022 at 11:00 AM. The visitation will take place from 10:00 to 11:00 AM. Interment in Mount Joy Cemetery will begin at 2:00 PM and include full military honors. The service will be live streamed, please click here.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Dick’s memory may be made to GracePoint Church, PO Box 269, Palmyra, PA 17078 or www.gracepointpalmyra.com

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