Terry Louise Coye Palm

Terry Louise (Coye) Palm, loving mother, grandmother, aunt, sister, sister-in-law, friend, and wife, passed peacefully in her sleep at her home early Monday morning October 18, 2021.

Terry was born in Cortland in 1951, the third child of Gerald Coye, Sr. and Helen Johnson Coye.

Terry enjoyed a wonderful childhood, surrounded by her loving extended family, and developed a rich appreciation for the support a network of family and friends brings to living. The friends she made in her neighborhood, through school and Y-Teens, through church, through her jobs, through her siblings remained her friends throughout her life.

A 1969 graduate of Cortland High School, Terry also completed the cosmetology program at OCM BOCES and possessed a NYS Cosmetology license for many years. She entered adulthood in the flood of Baby Boomers and worked in various jobs her entire adult life most significantly including Cornell University, Auxiliary Services Corporation (ASC) at SUNY Cortland, and finally at Family Health Network in Cortland. Possessing a quick mind, Terry rapidly learned new responsibilities and became an indispensable part of each position she assumed. She retired twice, first from ASC’s bookstore, and then again from Family Health Network’s administrative office.

Terry married Andrew Palm, also of Cortland, in 1983 and they had three children whom they raised in the changing times of the next several decades. TV replaced movies, computers entered the scene, camping trips became vacations, and Terry handled all of it with grace and love. She managed to fit in enough organ playing to maintain her skills and amassed a large collection of her favorite music and movies. She developed an appreciation for genealogy and spent a significant amount of time researching her family history.

Always focused on her children, supporting each one fiercely and equally in their individual path, she found additional joy in her grandchildren as each entered the world. Her life became a rich mosaic of phone calls, video chats, shopping trips and lunches with friends, and visits with family.

Each life is a story of its own and Terry’s had many twists and turns. Sometimes joyful, sometimes hard, sometimes sad, but always moving forward, Terry always lived her life with love for those around her. We will miss her very much but deeply cherish her presence in our lives.

Terry is survived by her husband, Andrew, of Bethel, Alaska; her children, Andrew Jr. (Rachel) Palm of White Plains; her daughter, Kathryn (Michael) Welser of Virgil; her son, John Palm of Cortland; her grandchildren, Madeline and Leo Palm, and Stella Welser. She is also survived by her brother, Gerald Jr. (Debbie) Coye of Saratoga Springs; brother, Craig (Loretta) Coye of Murrells Inlet, SC; sister, Mary (Duane) Robillard, of Cortland; sister-in-law, Nancy (Granato) Coye of Cortland, NY; her aunt, Aline Coye of DeRuyter; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

She was predeceased by her parents Gerald (Sr.) and Helen Coye, her dear brother, John Coye, and her special aunt, Agnes Johnson.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 23, 2021 at the Donald L. Barber Funeral Home, 5016 US Route 11, Homer, NY. Interment in Hillcrest Cemetery, DeRuyter, will be at the convenience of the family.  

Calling hours will be held on Friday from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. at the funeral home.

Gifts in her memory may be made to the charity of your choice but she would have appreciated donations to help end Alzheimer’s Disease through the Alzheimer's Association, Central New York Chapter.

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