Daune M. (Miller) Palmer

Daune Miller Palmer, 91, loved dearly by her family and friends, died peacefully on Monday, February 25, 2019 at Harrisburg Hospital.

Born January 21, 1928 in Dunkirk, New York, she was the daughter of the late Frederick and ViVera Miller and sister to the late Donald Miller.

Daune was a 1945 graduate of Dunkirk High School, and a 1949 graduate of Heidelberg University, Tiffin, OH, where she received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in English.

Daune began a long career in Buffalo, NY, working first as Copy Director at WKBW Inc. and later at Comstock and Company as Director of Radio and Television, where she earned several honors, including ‘Advertising Woman of the Year’ from the Advertising Women of Buffalo, where she served as President. When she paused her career to raise her daughter, she remained active in her community, serving in various roles on the Brooks Hospital Auxiliary, participating in the High Fever Follies, Dunkirk Planning Commission, Dunkirk Youth Board, Salvation Army and the United Way. Her freelance work during this time included producing publications and press releases for Cockaigne Ski Area, as well as co-authoring ‘A Political History of Women in Chautauqua County’. She picked her career back up in 1972, first as Director of College Relations at Fredonia State University, and later as Director of Community Relations at Brooks Memorial Hospital. Following her daughter and her family to Pennsylvania, she worked in marketing and public relations at Westbury United Methodist Community, Meadville, and at Shenango Valley Medical Center, Farrell, until her retirement.

Daune loved her family, and moved to the Harrisburg area 20 years ago, where she could spend time with her grandchildren. There, she wrote her family history in over two-hundred short stories, and maintained correspondence with her close high school friends in a monthly round-robin. Daune was a member of Paxton Presbyterian Church where she was active in the sewing group.

Surviving is her daughter, Julia Palmer Knight and her husband Michael Knight, Harrisburg; her grandchildren, Stephen Knight (Marcia Cavanagh), Harrisburg and Caroline Knight, Chapel Hill, NC; and her great grandson, Warner A. Knight. She is also survived by a sister-in-law Robin Miller, Lakewood, OH, nieces Donna Krivas (Frank) Phoenix, AZ and Linda Shively (Jeff), Rocky River, OH, and nephew George Miller (JB), Bainbridge Township, OH.

Services will be held at the convenience of the family. Burial will be in Willowbrook Cemetery, Dunkirk.​

Kimmel Funeral Home, Harrisburg, is handling arrangements.