Jere Palmgren

Jere Palmgren (née Stewart) passed away peacefully on October 17, 2026, several months after joyfully celebrating her 90th birthday. Born in Miami Beach, she was the daughter of James Raymond Stewart and Virginia Supple, both superb athletes at the University of Illinois.

Jere spent her childhood, with her older brother Jim, between Florida and Indiana. As a young teenager she played tennis, eventually playing with a Junior Wightman Cup team. She went to college at her parents’ alma mater, where she met her future husband, Robert Allan Palmgren, in 1956. They were married shortly thereafter and raised their two children, Tris and Rae, in Homewood, IL.

Both Jere and Bob were school teachers, and in 1967 they accepted teaching positions at the VALCO School in Tema, Ghana, where the family lived for three years before returning to Homewood. In the early ‘70s, Jere taught at Thornwood High School, where she was proud to help implement Title IX by coaching the Girls’ Tennis team, leading to a State Championship for their top player. Later, she would teach at the Glenwood School for Boys where she taught computer technologies in the lab she set up. Quite an accomplishment for a woman in her 50’s!

Their West African experience gave Jere and Bob a taste of international living, and when their children were out of high school and off to college, they took up several new teaching positions in North Africa and the Middle East for the following 15 years.

With summers off, they traveled extensively throughout Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Mediterranean, often traveling, or meeting up, with fellow teachers from their current or former posts. Local markets and historical sites, often remote, were the top of their lists. During the summer of 1970, Jere’s nephew John Stewart joined the family for several weeks of driving through Europe. The three kids were given $5 each day in local currency for their meals, teaching them to budget and to share.

Everywhere Jere lived, her love of tennis was matched only by her faith in Jesus Christ and a profound interest in other people; she had a gift for connecting with others by being genuinely interested in, and asking about, the details of their day to day lives.

In 2001, they moved to Tampa, FL, where Bob retired and Jere continued to teach at a local International Baccalaureate high school until she retired at the age of 73! Living on Tampa Bay, they graciously welcomed friends and family. One of her favorite sayings was how much she simply wanted to see all the young visitors’ “toes in the sand.”

Bob passed away in 2008. Jere is survived by her son Tris (Janet) and their children (Maya and Taylor); daughter Rae Ringhofer (Ron) and their children (Astrid and Lars), as well as two great-grandchildren (Marley and Jack).

A memorial visitation will be held Saturday, November 7, 2026, at the Tews-Ryan Funeral Home, 18230 dixie highway, Homewood, IL. 60430 from 10:00 a.m. until the time of service beginning at 11:00 a.m. For further information, please contact tews-ryanfh.com or call 708-798-5300.