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Former Diss Grammar School headteacher, Rosemary Palmer, fondly remembered at town funeral




Final respects were paid to a much-loved former Diss headteacher this week, who will be remembered for her irrepressible nature and unerring ability to look on the bright side.

Family and friends gathered in St Mary’s Church in Diss on Tuesday to remember Rosemary Palmer, who died on March 14, aged 91.

The daughter of a clergyman, she studied French in Oxford and taught in Lincoln, Warwick and Colchester before moving to Norfolk.

Rosemary Palmer, who died on March 14, aged 91.
Rosemary Palmer, who died on March 14, aged 91.

Miss Palmer was appointed headteacher of Diss Grammar School in 1977, prior to its amalgamation with the secondary modern school.

At her funeral service, the Rev Michael Crawford recalled that his children remembered Miss Palmer as someone who permitted absolutely no nonsense in her class.

Her nephew, Philip, recounted her passionate support for Norwich City Football Club and the way she joined in the chants and songs with gusto, while her niece, Rebecca, described her as “indomitable, inimitable and irrepressible”.

As well as teaching, Miss Palmer was a popular, well-respected and active member of St Mary’s.

“Rosemary was particularly supportive of ministry to young people,” Mr Crawford told the Diss Express: “As suggestions were put forward to support this, her watchwords were ‘why not?’

“Rosemary had an engaging personality and a ready smile, never complaining and forever looking on the bright side.

“St Mary’s has been blessed by her presence and impoverished by her death.”

Another of her passions in the town was its museum.

At this year’s opening for its 50th season, its first curator, Tim Holt-Wilson praised the people who had been significant in its history, making reference to Miss Palmer.

Basil Abbott, the museum’s manager, said: “She was a very active member of the museum from its early days right up to recent years.

“The establishment of the museum and the journey to its current eminence owes much to people like Rosemary.”

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