The world lost a very special person on September 28th, just two days before his 84th birthday. Lennart (aka Grampa Lucky) will be missed by his family and all that were fortunate to know him, however his wisdom, kind spirit and love of life’s simple pleasures will always be remembered.
Lennart was born on September 30th 1935 in New York. His parents, Lennart Sr. and Jessica, moved to California in his early years and he spent the majority of his youth in Rancho Santa Fe and Santa Barbara. He attended UCSB as an undergraduate and then went on to Stanford University for his MBA. While at Stanford he met Esterly (Terry) Osterhaus also from Santa Barbara. They married in 1957 and raised three children. Sadly, Esterly passed away at a fairly young age. Lennart’s second marriage was to Virginia Fischer of Santa Barbara. After 23 years they divorced, but Virginia (Ginny) remained his dear friend and a treasured member of the Palme family.
Lennart spent the majority of his adult life in the commodities field which took him to Chicago to work at the Mercantile Exchange. He then moved back to Santa Barbara to start his own commodities investment company which was very successful for many years. After retirement he stayed active with numerous interests and activities including Toast Masters and the Reagan Ranch Center where he was a docent for the past 10 years. He is survived by his children Cole, Pam and Chris (Elizabeth) and grandchildren Bijan and Leif.
A Celebration of Lennart’s Life will be held on Sunday October 27th from 4:00 – 6:00 pm at the Santa Barbara Tennis Club, 2375 Foothill Rd. (RSVPs appreciated to 805-455-9525)
In lieu of flowers and in honor of Lennart’s work and dedication to the Reagan Ranch Center, donations can be made to the Young America’s Foundation (YAF).
