Happy Father’s Day.
Photo: Arnold Palmer with his father “Deacon” and his daughters Amy and Peggy. http://t.co/Z0w3dq3uUo
Golfing great Arnold Palmer, who died Sunday of heart complications, leaves behind two daughters, Amy and Peggy.
They are his children with his first wife, Winnie, who died in 1999 after battling ovarian cancer.
Palmer remarried to second wife, Kathleen, six years after Winnie died. His daughters’ full names are Peggy Palmer Wears and Amy Palmer Saunders.
Arnold Palmer’s life will be honored at a public memorial service at 11 a.m. October 4 at Saint Vincent College, and a private funeral will be held later this week, said WTAE.
You can watch it live here:
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Palmer Met Winnie When She Was Only 19 & They Had Two Daughters Together
#TBT On this day in 1955, Arnold Palmer hit his first @TheMasters tee shot. Palmer becomes the first 4-time champion
Winnie was 19, “studying interior design at Brown University’s affiliated design school at Pembroke College. The two connected at dinner the next evening,” said Golf Channel.com, in an extensive profile on the family.
Palmer recalled the event in his autobiography, said Golf Channel: “Winnie, I began to learn that night, was unlike any girl I’d ever met, not just pretty and comfortable in almost any situation, but also smart, well traveled (she’d just come home from a big European trip), engagingly independent minded, even something of a would-be rebel.”
Peggy was born in February 1956, and the couple had Amy, two years later, says the profile.
Amy told Golf Channel of Winnie, “She was really the glue for all of our family. She was just the most accommodating person ever. She had deep, meaningful relationships with everyone, and I think she knew what my father needed and was willing to take a back seat anytime she needed to make sure to put everybody else out front, when in fact she was the one that was so often the person behind the scene and I think she did amazing things juggling and raising a family and trying to be there for my father.”
2. Palmer’s Daughter, Amy, Oversees Operations at His Country Club
Arnold Palmer dies at 87, brought golf to new level: Arnold Palmer brought a country club… t.co/bhl9HsbKSc
According to Arnold Palmer’s website, the Palmer family “consists of two daughters — Peggy Palmer Wears and Amy Palmer Saunders, who lives and, with husband Roy, oversees operations at the Bay Hill Club and Latrobe Country Club.”
According to GolfWeek, Amy released this statement after her father’s death: “My family and I are deeply moved by the outpouring of support and love that we have received from the countless friends and admirers of my father. These first hours have been challenging but we are comforted knowing that he was loved by so many and so deeply. Words cannot begin to express the gratitude we have for the many people who have offered to help us in this time of sadness. My father would be so pleased to know that he is being thought of and recognized this way…On behalf of my father and family, thank you for your thoughts and prayers.”
The Kate and Justin Rose Foundation, which fights childhood hunger, wrote on Facebook: “What a great day for the children from Grand Avenue Primary Learning Center as they walked the course at the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard. The children, lead by Ms. Kate, followed Mr. Justin and cheered on his excellent playing. They were then treated to a wonderful picnic lunch hosted by Amy Palmer Saunders.”
3. Arnold Palmer Had Many Grandchildren & Also Has Stepchildren
Arnold Palmer with his granddaughter, Katie Saunders. (Getty)
The Arnold Palmer website says the golfer had “four granddaughters, two grandsons and nine great grandchildren.”
In addition, Palmer’s second wife, Kathleen, “has three children – son Al Gawthrop III and daughters Lynn Bouck and Blair Miller, all living in the Denver area – and eight grandchildren.”
A biography of Palmer lists his grandchildren as four granddaughters, Emily, Katherine Anne, Anne Palmer Saunders and Nicola Wears and a grandson, Samuel Palmer Saunders. His daughter, Peggy, lives in North Carolina, and his daughter, Amy, lives in Florida, the bio says.
4. Amy’s Son, Samuel Saunders, Is a Professional Golfer
Amy’s son – Arnold’s grandson – has carried on the family tradition.
Samuel Saunders is 29-years-old and has been a pro golfer since 1996. Saunders participates in the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club every year, which his parents run and grandfather owned.
In a 2016 ESPN profile, Saunders said he called Palmer “Dumpy,” because his sister, Emily said that word when trying to call him “Grampy.”
Learn more about Samuel Saunders here:
5. The Daughters’ Mother, Winnie, Died at Age 65 After Fighting Cancer & One of Palmer’s Daughters Survived Breast Cancer
Arnold Palmer with his wife, Winnie Walzer Palmer, in 1995. (Getty)
According to Winnie Palmer’s obituary, she died at age 65 in 1999 after fighting ovarian cancer. Palmer was married to her for more than 40 years.
The Orlando Sentinel said, “Arnold Palmer disclosed last year that his wife had cancer. He said his family would face it with the same courage they showed when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and his daughter developed breast cancer.”
The newspaper did not disclose which daughter had survived cancer.
