Visitation, funeral services announced for freshman runner Palmer Maphet

Visitation Wednesday and Thursday,
Funeral Thursday in Mt. Juliet at 2 p.m.

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Visitation and funeral arrangments have been set for Palmer Maphet, 19, a freshman member of the Tennessee Tech University men’s cross country team from Mt. Juliet, Tenn., who was killed Wednesday (June 16) in an autombile accident near Portland, Maine.

Visitation will be Wednesday from 2-8 p.m. at the Bond Memorial Chapel in Mt. Juliet, and Thursday from 12-2 p.m. at Hermitage Church of the Nazarene. Funeral services will be conducted Thursday at 2 p.m. at Hermitage Church of the Nazarene, 4151 Saundersville Road, Old Hickory, Tenn., with Pastor John Maphet, Pastor Shane Tarter and Paster Rondy Smith officiating. Interment will follow at Hermitage Memorial Gardens.

Flowers accepted and memorials may be made to Youth Summer Missions at Hermitage Church of the Nazarene, P.O. Box 111, Hermitage, TN 37076.

Arrangements by Bond Memorial Champel, N. Mt. Julliet Road and Weston Drive, Mt. Juliet, TN. Phone (615) 773-2663. Obit Line is (615) 641-2663.

Palmer is survived by his father, Marvin Maphet, and mother, Christy Carroll, brothers Justin and Braden Maphet, sisters Kelsey (Jordan) Smith of Westminister, Colo, and Alyssa Maphet, and grandparents Gene and Ethel Carroll of Kingwood, Texas.

Palmer was serving on a team sent out by Tennessee Baptist Collegiate Ministry to minister at Laconia Motorcycle Week in Laconia, N.H. They were en route to the event when the accident occurred.

"Palmer was so excited about going to Maine this summer to do mission work," said Tony Cox, TTU track & field coach. " We talked about it many times throughout the spring semester. He was looking forward to meeting new people and running on the great trails for which Maine is famous. He was really excited about next year's cross country season.

"Palmer was a great young man and very popular with the team," Cox added. "He was a very high energy and enthusiastic person, and loved being a part of this team.  He could be very funny or very sincere, and moved between those two extremes with amazing ease and frequency.

"He liked a quote my wife gave him by Saint Francis of Assisi: 'Preach the Gospel everyday. If necessary, use words.'  Palmer lived his faith by example and was an inspiration to all of us.  He will be missed, but his memory will live with us forever."

“It was extremely sad and tragic to receive the news of Palmer’s death,” said TTU Director of Athletics Mark Wilson. “The thoughts and prayers of the entire Athletics Department are with Palmer’s family, as well as the family of the track & field program.”

According to a news report by the Portland (Maine) News, a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck, driven by Paula Haddow, 63, of Standish, Maine, crossed into the lane and struck the car in which Maphet was a passenger.

"Palmer Maphet was an exceptional Christian man," said Bill Choate, director of Baptist Collegiate Ministries for the Tennessee Baptist Convention. "He will obviously be missed by so very many."

Maphet was very involved in the BCM at Tennessee Tech, said BCM campus director John Aaron Matthew, who posted comments on Facebook.

According to Matthew, Maphet had served as team leader of his freshman spiritual growth team and this past spring began a new role on the upperclassmen discipleship team. He also was "preparing to reach his dorm for Christ as a community group leader,” said Matthew’s posting.

"Palmer lived a life that was not wasted because he lived his life running hard after Christ in an effort to know God and to make Him known," Matthew observed.

Matthew asked for prayer for the Maphet family and for his summer mission team in Maine: "Please pray that Palmer's life still continues to bring glory to God even in death."