Peter Palmer, 66; authored a book on football statistics
Peter A. Palmer was a neighborhood kid from the South End who parlayed a love of football and a head for figures into a career as a statistician who provided information to bettors. But he never forgot where he came from.
"He kept in close touch with his friends from the neighborhood over the years and was active at Camp Hale, a camp for underprivileged kids in New Hampshire that he attended as a kid," Anthony Palmer of Goodyear, Ariz., said yesterday of his brother who died, apparently of a heart attack, Aug. 31 at Tufts New England Medical Center.
"Camp Hale was a big part of his life," said his daughter Paula M. Palmer-King of Haymarket, Va. "He emceed auctions to raise funds and visited regularly."
Mr. Palmer, 66, was sometimes mistaken for baseball statistician Pete Palmer, but his specialty was football. "He provided information to people who wanted to bet on the games and was also the author of the book 'Football According to Palmer,' " said his former wife, Suzanne Adduci of Rockland.
For a while, he operated Pete Palmer Sports out of an office in Boston, but also operated the business in Quincy, where he lived in recent years. "He didn't need an office," Adduci said. "His business was where he was."
Born in Boston, Mr. Palmer graduated from Boston College High School and Boston State College. He was a systems analyst at Blue Cross and an assessor for the City of Boston before opening his business in the mid-1970s.
Each Sunday, he would hold a party at his house in Quincy.
"He could make up a reason to have a party at the drop of a hat. Sometimes he just made up a holiday," said his sister, Lorraine Kehoe of Quincy.
"He was a great guy who loved football and kids and would do anything for his friends," said a friend since childhood, Dennis Thomson, a retired Boston police officer who now lives in Quincy.
"If he had five dollars and you needed it, it was ours," Anthony Palmer said of his brother. "He was a man who always tried to do the right thing, even if it sometimes didn't turn out right."
Most Friday nights, Mr. Palmer could be found at karaoke night at the Common Market Restaurant in Quincy. "His specialty was 'Me and Mrs. Jones,' " Kehoe said. "When he got up and announced the song, the audience would groan."
Last year at Christmas, Mr. Palmer dressed up in a Santa Claus suit, spent $100 on small gifts, and stuffed them in a pillowcase. He then went to a supermarket in Plymouth and began distributing the gifts to children.
"The police soon arrived and questioned his motives," Kehoe said. "They told him he had to have a permit and turned him away. He was devastated."
In addition to his daughter, siblings, and former wife, Mr. Palmer leaves two sons, Marc-Anthony of Plymouth and Scott A. of Hanover; three daughters, Kim M. of Braintree, Dawn M. Forestall of Hanover, and Monica Donlan of Boston; and 10 grandchildren.
A funeral Mass will be said at noon today in Saint Ann's Church in Quincy. Burial is private.
