Michael Palmen

Michael Allen Palmen, M.D., of Rochester, Minnesota, died on April 16, 2026, of metastatic bile duct cancer.

Dr. Palmen was born in Madison, Wisconsin, on April 18, 1943, to Woodbury Allen Palmen and Wilhelmina Schmitt. After living briefly in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, he spent the remainder of his childhood in the town of Wabasha, Minnesota. In Wabasha he spent his free time fishing and exploring the backwaters of the Mississippi River with his family and experimenting in his basement with model rockets, small engines, and electronics. Michael had a lifelong curiosity and passion for science, being recognized in 1961 by the Westinghouse Science Talent Search. At Gustavus Adolphus College he graduated with Bachelor of Science degrees in chemistry and psychology.

In 1965, Michael was drafted into the U.S. Army. He was an honor graduate of the Clinical Psychology Specialist program at the U.S. Army Medical Field School before being deployed to Vietnam with the 1st Infantry Division, the "Big Red One," in 1967. In Vietnam, he served as director of the U.S. Army Medical Battalion's Mental Hygiene Clinic, Company B, stationed at Lai Khê during the height of the Tet Offensive and in support of operations in the "Iron Triangle," where he was under enemy rocket fire for nine months. He was promoted in the field to Specialist 6 and received the U.S. Army Commendation Medal.

Following his discharge from service in 1968, Michael returned to Minneapolis where he helped to create the Chemical Dependency Treatment Program at Hennepin County Medical Center. He also served as a consultant in the establishment of numerous addiction treatment facilities in the Twin Cities during the formative years of modern addiction medicine. This work inspired Michael to pursue a medical degree in order to better care for his patients.

While attending the University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis and traveling to California in 1974, Michael met his future wife, Bonnie Jean Ferguson, a native of Minnesota who was living in San Francisco at the time. He always said it was "love at first sight," and they remained together for 52 years.

After earning his medical degree in 1975, Dr. Palmen completed his residency in psychiatry at the San Mateo County Mental Health Program in California. He and Bonnie then returned to the Midwest. In Ann Arbor, Michigan, he served as Director of the Alcoholism and Chemical Dependency Treatment Program for the University of Michigan Medical Center and as head of the Addiction Education Program at the University of Michigan Medical School. He subsequently joined the Mayo Clinic staff in Rochester, Minnesota, as a Consultant in the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology.

During his tenure at the Mayo Clinic, Dr. Palmen served in many capacities including as Medical Director of the Alcohol and Drug Dependence Unit, Medical Director of the Outpatient Consultation and Partial Hospitalization Chemical Dependence Service, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, and Associate Program Director of the Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship at the Mayo College of Medicine and Graduate School of Medicine. He also consulted with numerous local and regional addiction treatment and recovery programs and served on many advisory and task force committees on behalf of the Mayo Clinic. He was certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, the American Board of Addiction Medicine, the American Society of Addiction Medicine, and the American Group Psychotherapy Association, and was a life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association as well as an active member of numerous other professional associations.

Upon his retirement from the Mayo Clinic and receiving emeritus status, Dr. Palmen entered private practice. For an additional 25 years, he specialized in the treatment of complex psychiatric and addiction disorders, providing comprehensive, personalized, and patient-centered psychiatric and psychotherapeutic care. His patients knew that he was committed to staying with them, caring for them, and never abandoning them through their psychiatric struggles.

In addition to his professional accomplishments, Dr. Palmen was an intrepid outdoorsman whose favorite activities included canoeing, camping, and fishing in the Boundary Waters Wilderness, Quetico, and Berens River. He also enjoyed the North Shore of Lake Superior, his dogs (especially dachshunds), photography, maintaining his home, yard, and hobby orchard, and reading and sharing discoveries from a wide range of scientific journals.

Dr. Palmen is survived by his wife, Bonnie Jean Palmen; his three children Justin Allen Palmen of Austin, Texas; Brandon Michael Palmen of San Mateo, California; and Laura Jean (Daniel Jon Crowson) Palmen of St. Paul, Minnesota; and by his two young grandchildren, Nikolas Henry Palmen and Emilie Rose Palmen.

A celebration of his life will be held in his honor at 1:00 PM on Saturday, May 2, 2026, at the Ranfranz and Vine Funeral Home (5421 Royal Place NW). All are invited to attend. Ranfranz and Vine Funeral Home is honored to be serving the Palmen family; to share a special memory or condolence please visit www.ranfranzandvinefh.com.