PORT TOWNSEND — Abby Irwin reminded 1,400 people what a joy it was to be in the presence of Andy Palmer.
As the Port Angeles teenager stepped onto the stage at Fort Worden State Park’s McCurdy Pavilion on Monday morning to address the throng of Palmer’s friends, family and firefighters from across the state and nation, she offered two words:
“Just smile,” Irwin said.
“Just celebrate that he was alive.”
Palmer, the 18-year-old Olympic National Park firefighter from Port Townsend killed in the line of duty July 25, was Irwin’s dear friend — and fan.
When his parents, Robert and Janet Palmer, moved from Port Angeles to Port Townsend four years ago, Andy Palmer took Irwin on a tour of his old house.
When she spotted the grand piano, she went to it and found Pachelbel’s “Canon in D” awaiting her.
Irwin told Palmer this was her favorite classical piece to play; he told her it was his favorite to hear.
So she began. “Andy leans his head back. And I hear a sniffle,” Irwin remembered.
The music had moved Palmer, a 240-pound, 6-foot-5 football player, to tears.
