Duncan Fraser Palmer

Duncan Fraser Palmer died in Pittsburgh on September 2, 2026. He was 80. Born in Pittsburgh on March 28, 1946, with Scotch-Irish roots that shaped the table more than the flag. He learned early that a day is something you finish, not something you wait for. He hung over rivers in a harness that became a second spine. A shining buckle was pride; rust was the enemy he understood. Colleagues still mention a harness buckle shining from use. He married Margaret in 1970. They kept a house that stayed modest when the neighborhood did not. They raised a daughter through public schools and ordinary weather. After Margaret died in 2019, he kept the routines that still made sense: the walk, the garden, the Sunday call. Neighbors remember covered dishes that arrived without a speech. He liked early mornings before the heat or the noise. He died in Pittsburgh, among streets he never needed to explain. The porch still expects a returning step.