Laura Marie Palmer

Laura Marie Palmer Camarillo, CA Laura Marie Palmer passed away peacefully on March 8, surrounded by family and close friends. She was born in Charleston, South Carolina, on December 14, 1946, to Russell and Evelyn Newton. A Navy family, they relocated to Norfolk, VA, Newfoundland, and Newport RI before transfer to Oxnard, CA in 1958, where they settled after Russell’s retirement from the Navy. Laura graduated from Hueneme High School in 1965 and, after attending business school, began work in civil service as a secretary at the Naval Surface Weapons Center, CBC, Port Hueneme. Her civil service career spanned 29 years, working for NSWC, NARU Point Mugu, NETSCLANT, Office of the Secretary of the Navy, Pacific Missile Center and the Naval Air Warfare Command, Washington DC. She retired from civil service in 1994 and, following her husband’s retirement from the Navy in 1995, moved to St. Augustine, FL for the next 20 years. During her years in St. Augustine, Laura took up golf and developed a passion for the game. Between playing golf, sewing expertly for friends and cooking lavish meals for both her husband and acquaintances, she led an enjoyable and fulfilling life. Unfortunately, in 2013 she was diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), which constricted her breathing and worsened with time. In 2015, Laura and her husband chose to move back to Camarillo, in Ventura County, where her sister, three of four children and seven of her eight grandchildren reside. The move enabled her to bond with the family as her disease progressed. She passed away at home from COPD complications. Laura is survived by her husband Tim, sister Margaret Bengtson (David), son Daniel Basua (Brandi), daughter Dawn Valenzuela (Rick), step-daughter Jeanette, step-son Jim (Pamela) and eight grandchildren. A private celebration of life will be held and her ashes will be scattered at sea in the same location as her father’s. She lived a full life, her way!