Roy Claybourn Palmer 1935-2017

Roy Claybourn Palmer died February 27, 2017. He was born in Kearney, Missouri on August 9, 1935 and moved to Chicago shortly after his birth. After serving in Korea with the US Army 7th Cavalry, he married his first wife, Nancy Barclay and had three children, Claybourn John Palmer, Heather Ann Palmer Roberts and Allyson Lynn Palmer. He started his professional life with the Federal Trade Commission then followed into the private sector, eventually starting his own firm. Focusing on business law, among others practice areas, he represented the Visiting Nurses Association and the Illinois State Savings and Loan Association. He attended Chicago's Lake View HS, Lake Forest College and Chicago-Kent College of Law, where he earned his Juris Doctorate with Honors. He established and endowed the Roy C. Palmer Civil Liberties Prize at Chicago-Kent College of Law for writings that explore the tension between our civil liberties and national security in contemporary American society. In 1983 he married Susan Marie Kelly. Shortly thereafter they embarked on an adventure that would change the world of many Native American tribes. As a pioneer in the Native American Gaming Industry, he was said to have "found a loophole in the law and drove a mack truck through it". He worked most notably for the St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin who awarded him their highest honor by presenting him with an Eagle Feather. From California to Florida he fought many legal battles to gain the tribes their gaming rights. He served on the Boards of Lake Forest College, IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, Mote Marine Laboratory, Goodwill Industries, The Harris Trust/Bank of Montreal and the Asolo Theatre. Services have been held.