Their auto license plate said it all: Le-El. Leland and Eleanor.

Eleanor Faye (Tucker) Palmer passed away on Saturday, March 2, 2024 at Riverwood Senior Living, Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. She was born on March 26, 1934 in Whiting, Iowa to John Preston and Marieta Gertrude (Combs) Tucker.

Eleanor grew up in Big Spring in the township of New Haven, Wisconsin Dells. As a child, Eleanor loved horses, and being a bit of a tomboy, she especially enjoyed tagging along with her father in his mechanic shop in Big Spring. She grew up as the middle child with siblings Dick, Nita, David, and Ginny.

Eleanor attended Portage schools until her junior year in high school, then graduated from Wisconsin Dells High School in 1951. Leland and Eleanor were married on October 26, 1951. They became teen parents of Randy and Cindy, matured into their young twenties and brought daughter and son, Jill and Wesley, into the world. Eleanor began her adult life as a wife, mother, and homemaker. She and Leland hand built a house in the country, adjacent to his childhood farm. As her children grew, she began to work outside the home. She was a secretary at Wisconsin Dells High School, an aide at Fern Dell School. She and Leland purchased a farm in 1968, began raising cattle, and dabbled in the Arabian horse business. They focused on organic farming practices and had large gardens (his) and flower beds (hers), as well as large pine plantings. They harvested maple sap and made maple syrup. She was a talented bread artisan, and ground her own wheat and made amazing wheat buns. The kitchen counter was full of vegetables at harvest time, subject to canning and freezing. She cooked whatever game her hunter husband brought home, most commonly venison. A talented, natural musician, Eleanor played the piano by ear. In mid-life, she sang in a trio with her sisters, and wrote songs that focused on the people and the relationships in her life.

Eleanor studied real estate law and worked as an agent for a short time. She made screened wooden rat carrier boxes in her home workshop for a research company in Madison, delivering the boxes by truck and trailer. She also did other wood piece work for a furniture company. The wood shop was as much hers as it was his.

The Le-El pair loved to travel! They took the kids on annual summer vacations, most often to Echo Lake in northern Minnesota, sometimes with a canoe expedition into the Boundary Waters. They made their first journey to Alaska in 1967 with their four children in a blue Ford pickup and "Cramper," and made seven additional trips to Alaska over the years as a couple. Autumn would find them on a western tack, often to Cody and Thermopolis, Wyoming. Winters would find them camping in Texas, New Mexico or Florida. They occasionally served as campground hosts. Eleanor fulfilled a lifelong dream to see the statue of David and the Sistine Chapel in Italy in 2006, with the insistence from Leland that her two daughters accompany her on the trip! It was only the second time in her life that she was separated more than a night or two from her husband. She claimed to have no talents, but she was a gifted artist in her own right. Her specialty was her quilting, but more so, her artistic landscape quilts, and her watercolors. She also crafted stained glass projects and created baskets from willow and ash. She enjoyed politics, reading, sewing, journaling, keeping stock of her stocks and investments, and singing in the church choir. A mom of the 50's, her children were of utmost importance. A larger dining room table was procured (that's a story in itself!) to include grandchildren. The family album expanded exponentially with the addition of great-grandchildren. It was a joy to host an annual family camping weekend at the farm each summer.

Eleanor's life changed dramatically in 2017 with the death of her husband of 65 years, Leland. She eventually moved into Our House Senior Living and then Riverwood Senior Living. She was known at each as the life of the party, with the sociability helping her deal with the overwhelming grief she was feeling.

Eleanor is survived by her children, Randy (Sandy) Palmer, Cindy (Larry) Randall, Jill (Greg) McNamer, and Wesley (Kathy) Palmer; grandchildren, Hilary (Kristen) Palmer, Delbert (Charlene Raley) Palmer, Gus Nelson, Josh Nelson, Aaron (Kristin) Westedt, Sarah (Ryan) Richard, Gregory (Lauren) McNamer, and Cameron (Christine) Palmer; step-grandchildren, Andrea and Alicia (Josh Brown) Spiess; great-grandchildren, Autumn, Beau, Drew, Anna, Sawyer, Johanna, Klara, Liam, Alyssa and Alanna. She was preceded in death by her husband and parents; grandson, Casey Palmer and siblings Charles Richard "Dick" Tucker, Nita Jones Mohl, David Tucker, and Virginia "Ginny" Stevens.

Memorials may be made to United Presbyterian Church. The family wishes to thank the wonderful staff of Riverwood Senior Living for their kind care and deep compassion.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 27, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. at the United Presbyterian Church in the Wisconsin Dells with Pastor Steven Keller presiding. Visitation will be from 1:00 p.m. until the time of service at 2:00 p.m. Eleanor will be laid to rest following the service at Big Spring Cemetery.