RACINE- James A. "Jim" Palmer, age 68, passed away deservingly peaceful on October 4, 2021, at Hospice Alliance in Pleasant Prairie. Jim was born in Racine, the second of six children on September 13,1953 to Harvey L. and Jeanette A. (nee; Rentz) Palmer. He attended Trinity Lutheran School and Racine Lutheran High School, class of 1971. He completed the Mechanical Drafting Program at Racine Technical Institute, graduating in 1972 and Gateway Technical Institute with an Associate Degree in Mechanical Design in 1979. Jim was employed by Modine Manufacturing Company for 35 years and was extremely proud of his work there, his name appearing on several US patents for Modine. During his years at Modine he helped assemble the floats for the 4th of July parade and was also a volunteer on the 4th Fest committee. He was an avid model railroader and a member of several railroad clubs. Jim spent many years collecting and preserving HO scale trains and his train layout. He was most fond of the Milwaukee Road. He greatly enjoyed the time that he was able to spend with his grandson, Corbin, teaching him about model railroading. Jim was the Scout Master of Boy Scout Troop 113 during the late 70's early 80's. Jim was married to JoAnn Hartwig in 1975, divorcing in 1982. From their union, Jim's son Matthew James was born in 1976. The absolute light of his life was his grandson Corbin. Jim's goal was to see Corbin graduate from high school- also from Lutheran High School, 51 years later in the class of 2022. Jim was one of the founding board members of the Racine Emergency Shelter Taskforce (REST Program), the first homeless program in Racine. He served as an executive member on the board for many years, last serving as Treasurer. Jim was an advocate for the homeless and spent countless volunteer hours doing what he could to help. There were six people in Jim's life that he truly loved until his dying day. Among those are Susan Kiger and her daughters Sara, Amy and Beth. He cherished the time they spent together. Jim loved traveling to Sedona, Arizona with Susan. Jim's favorite spot in the world was in Mercer, Wisconsin at his uncle Fred's place on Grand Portage Lake. He is survived by his son, Matthew James (Cheryl), grandson Corbin Alexander, brother Dennis and his children Shawn and Kaitlin, brother Thomas and his son Jonathan and brother Scott and his son Mark. Jim was preceded in death by his parents, brothers Daniel and Kevin, who passed away at birth, Uncle Frederick Rentz, nephew Joshua Palmer and sister-in-law Connie Palmer. A Visitation for Jim will be held at Trinity Lutheran Church, 2065 Geneva Street on Saturday, October 9 from 10:00 a.m. until the time of service at 11:00 a.m. Interment will follow in West Lawn Memorial Park.