As the saying goes, “It never rains on Palmer Day”. The weather could not have been more obliging last Saturday, with bright sunshine bathing the parade route and the festivities at Palmer Park all day long.

 

The traditional honor this year went to Queen Dee and King Greg Schendzielos, who smiled and gave the royal wave to their friends and neighbors as they cruised down the road atop a snazzy convertible.  On arrival at the park, they were joined by family and friends and the contingent of previous Palmer royals for the lavish luncheon under the royal canopy at the head of the park.  But, even with all of the smiles and sunshine the day could afford, there was an underlying darkness, too.

 

This pair of long-term Palmer residents are each facing a battle in real life that smiles and sunshine can’t help.  In March, Greg was diagnosed with cancer, for which he is undergoing continuing treatments.  In August, Dee was also diagnosed with cancer, and is also now undergoing treatment.  Greg was scheduled to be at home for this interview on Tuesday, but ended up in the VA Hospital in St. Cloud for what Dee described as complications from his radiation treatments.

 

The news that both were experiencing a major illness gave the Palmer Day committee pause, Dee said, but they decided to ask the couple to be their royalty anyway.  And it was the right decision, which led to a good day for all concerned.

 

The couple has lived “very private” lives, Dee said during the interview this week, and they are finding the details of their current situation difficult to process, or talk about.  “It still seems surreal,” she said.

 

They first met after the St. Patrick’s Day parade in St. Paul, in 1970, when he literally bumped into her in the lobby of the St. Paul Hilton Hotel, Dee said.  His first words were the time-honored line: “Hey, don’t I know you?” to which she replied “No, I don’t think so,” believing she had heard that one before.

 

As it turned out, he really did know her, or at least knew her brother and he really did know who she was.  Things developed from that potentially rocky first encounter, and the couple wed in 1975.  They built the wonderful log home they live in the 1970’s, across the road from the family farm where he and his siblings grew up. 

 

The home is alive with eclectic memorabilia, including a canoe suspended high on a wall beneath the beamed ceiling, and what appeared to be a British policeman’s helmet standing proudly on one buffet in the living room.

 

Greg spent his working life in the construction business with his brothers, Dee said, and she studied nursing and retired four years ago after almost 30 years at a nurse at the St. Cloud Hospital.  Prior to that, she had worked at other hospitals including what is now Regions Medical Center in the Twin Cities.

 

They raised two daughters, Samantha Schendzielos and Gretchen (Schendzielos) Huwe, who were both with them to celebrate this special Palmer Day, along with other family members and a host of friends who stopped by at the park to wish them well on the day.

 

They are both very attached to the Palmer area, and have been active in working to keep it the kind of place they have come to know and love.  Dee also served on the township park board for several years, and was a 4-H leader when her girls were growing up.

 

And more recently, she was a very vocal opponent of a proposed asphalt plant in the Palmer area, which was never built, and she has actively pressed the town board to reduce speeds on 42nd St. to ensure the safety of the bicyclists and pedestrians who enjoy using the roadway.

 

No one can see the future with clarity, but Dee said this:  “We are grateful for a great life, and we pray for miracles every day.”

 

You would expect no less from the King and Queen of Palmer.