Rick & Tony Palmer
Rick and Tony Palmer, the sons of Les and Barb Palmer, were raised on a dairy farm in the rural Belleville area. In 1969, they were both diagnosed with Duchenne’s, the most aggressive form of muscular dystrophy. Tony was seven at the time and Rick was barely one year old. Both began using a wheelchair during their early years in elementary school.
Their inability to walk did not diminish their love of sports, music, or their concern for family and friends. Tony was a devoted Packer fan and frequently watched one football game on TV while he listened to another game on the radio. Rick’s passion was the UW-Madison Badger Hockey team. He was also an avid bird watcher and painter.
They both had the opportunity to attend Muscular Dystrophy camp, an experience that became the highlight of their summers. Tony graduated from Madison Memorial High School and Rick from Verona High School. As their disease progressed, their physical abilities diminished. They died at the ages of 22 and 26, respectively. Friends and family remember them as warm, caring individuals who displayed an inspirational enthusiasm for life.
In celebration of the lives of Tony and Rick Palmer, the Palmer and Francois families from Belleville, Wis. came together to help raise funds for and awareness of Muscular Dystrophy. For many years a summertime golf outing was held. Rick Francois, an avid runner himself, decided eight years ago to try a new direction with the fundraiser that would permit a larger segment of the community to get involved and "Jerry's Race" was born.
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Many believe that the race was named for Jerry Lewis because of his ties to MDA as the host of the Labor Day weekend telethon. In reality, though, the races' namesake is for Jerry Schumacher, honored as NCAA Coach of the Year in 2005 after his U.W. cross-country team won the national collegiate championship.
A native of Waukesha, Schumacher competed at Wisconsin from 1988 to 1993 and was a three-time All-American and two-time All-Big Ten selection in cross country and track. After graduation and serving as an assistant coach at the University of North Carolina, Schumacher returned to Madison as an assistant to his predecessor, Martin Smith, before taking over the program as head coach in 1998, achieving unprecedented success.
In his nine seasons at the helm, Wisconsin has never finished lower than sixth at the NCAA championships, finishing sixth in his first year of 1998, fifth in 2000 and 2001, second in 1999, 2002, 2003, and 2004 before taking home the national championship in 2005. The Badgers have won the Big Ten title for an unprecedented seven consecutive years and Jerry was named conference coach of the year after each championship.
Jerry and his wife, Kathy, live in McFarland with their four children.
Jerry says he is enthusiastic about his role in the annual event at Verona’s Festival Park and Military Ridge Course. “Wisconsin is a ‘running state’ loaded with good distance runners who love the sport for health, recreation and the personal competitive challenge. I am pleased that Jerry’s Race has created this unique experience for runners which in turn will raise much more money to fight childhood disease,” Jerry said.
“Jerry Schumacher and Jerry Lewis go well together raising funds to fight childhood disease, a perfect team for Jerry’s Race,” Rick Francois says. The four 5k/10k winners will receive their engraved 22-inch traveling trophies on the annual Labor Day Jerry Lewis Telethon on WKOW-TV.
In 2009, Rick Francois set up the Francois Family Foundation to raise funds for MDA and other childhood diseases charities. The Foundation's major fundraising event is still Jerry's Race and, with the Kiwanis Clubs of Belleville and Verona, the organizations are able to apply money to various entities that work with children. A major focus of all these groups is to send kids like Rick and Tony Palmer to camp.
MDA Summer Camp is open to children and young adults ages 6-17. Traditionally held the week before Father's Day weekend, the camp for children living in Southwestern Wisconsin is at Camp Wonderland in Paddock Lake, WI. The National average to send one child to MDA Summer Camp is $800. Each child is paired one-on-one with a volunteer and activities include arts and crafts, fishing, sports, rides in the sidecars of Harley-Davidsons and so much more!
Please join our community at Jerry's Race Against Muscular Dystrophy as we celebrate the lives of Tony and Rick Palmer and help further our mission to combat Muscular Dystrophy and other childhood diseases.
