Jorge Palmarin, South End youth activist, dies at 36

Source: MySouthEnd.com
Date: 2008/05/08
Link to Full Text: http://www.mysouthend.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=&sc3=&id=74166

Jorge Palmarin, Jr., a lifelong South End resident and community activist, died on May 3 after a long battle with cancer. He was 36.

Hundreds of friends and family celebrated Palmarin’s life at a memorial service at St. Stephen’s Episocopal Church on Shawmut Avenue May 7, where mourners spilled out into the street. While friends and family spoke in quiet tones in front, a chorus of "We love you, Jorge! We love you, Jorge!" rang out from inside the church.

As evidenced by the many mourners at his funeral and his wake, held on May 6 at St. Stephen’s, Palmarin was well-loved in the South End and the greater community. The son of the late Ada and Jorge Palmarin, Sr., themselves longtime activists in Villa Victoria, he lived most of his life in the South End and, like his parents, was extremely involved in the neighborhood. "He had a passion for youth and one of the things that he worked very hard on was creating programs for youth, particularly in the South End," said his cousin, Elisa Soltren.

Santos Hernandez, another cousin, agreed, adding that Palmarin had been deeply concerned about youth in the community from a very early age; even when he was a teenager, he’d take other teens aside, talk to them about their problems and how to solve them, and try to steer them towards education and productivity. "He did it when he was a teenager, he was always like that," he said. "Some people do it because it’s their job. He was genuine."

For much of his life, community work was Palmarin’s job. He was a community organizer for City Year, Inquilinos Boricuas en Accion and Tent City, and was a street worker for the city’s Boston Center for Youth and Families. Palmarin was the founder of the Tent City Youth Center and a cofounder of the South End/Lower Roxbury Youth Workers’ Alliance.

Mel King, former state representative, lifelong South End resident, and longtime community activist, knew Palmarin for his entire life. They worked together at Tent City. "He was very serious about the kind of work that was necessary to deal with youth," said King, explaining that Palmarin understood what teens needed.

"He wanted things to happen in a way, he was respectful to the youth. He had high expectations of them because he had high expectations of himself," he said.

Palmarin’s dedication to the South End and Lower Roxbury community was in part due to his belief in family and his love for his own very large one. Friends and family said that the importance of community activism was instilled in him by his parents, who helped found Villa Victoria and often brought their son to community meetings. "It was instilled in him from a very early age to lucha, to fight for his community," said Ann Hemmenway, a family friend.

His wife, Ines, recalled how she met Palmarin during a community clean up of Villa Victoria organized by City Year. "The whole beginning of our relationship was community building," she said. "I think Jorgie really dedicated his life to just that. He was loved by everybody, his family, his community, he was somebody everybody knew, but he was so quiet about the things he could do."

Palmarin briefly attended Boston Universiy, but left after about a semester, Ines said. She said sometimes people would ask him why he didn’t go back and complete his degree. "He’d say, ’I’m already doing what I love, I don’t need to go to school,’" Ines recalled.

Community work consumed most of Palmarin’s life; Ines said she became a softball coach with South End Baseball because she was always there anyway while he was coaching. But Palmarin also loved to spend time with his family, playing dominoes, or hanging out with his 18-month-old son, Jorge. He collected comic books, especially of the super hero variety, X-Men, Ironman, and was a huge Patriots fan, his friends and family said, as well as a Red Sox fan.

Echoing the sentiments of many who attended at Palmarin’s funeral, Hernandez said, "My cousin was such a wonderful man, he was a good family man. He would give not 100 percent, but at least 5000 percent ... I’m going to miss him."

Palmarin is survived by his wife, Ines, and his young son, Jorge Y. Palmarin; his brothers, Francisco E. Palmarin of Quincy and Marco Palmarin of Everett; two nephews, two nieces, six godchildren, many aunts, uncles, cousins, friends and family. Donations in his name are being accepted for the St. Stephen’s After School Program, 419 Shawmut Ave., Boston Ma 02118, or to South End Baseball, PO Box 181120, Boston Ma 02118.