"Surround yourself with positive people and never stop believing in tomorrow."
— Josh Palmer
Foundation in Team and Community
“Josh was a dedicated and fierce competitor. He thrived on teamwork, carried himself with confidence, and had leadership that inspired everyone around him. Josh refused to be outworked. I love him like my son."— Bill Limoncelli
Football in the fall. Basketball in the winter. Baseball in the spring.
At Southside High School, Josh became a three-sport athlete, earning nine varsity letters. He was a three-time All-STC selection in baseball, earned All-STC, All-Section, and All-Twin Tiers honors in football, and helped Southside basketball win an STC Championship his senior year.
But the people who knew Josh best remembered more than what he accomplished. They remembered how he carried himself — how he competed, listened, led, and showed up for the people around him.
“Josh was a dedicated and fierce competitor. He thrived on teamwork, carried himself with confidence, and had leadership that inspired everyone around him. Josh refused to be outworked. I love him like my son." — Bill Limoncelli
After graduating from Southside in 1998, Josh continued his academic and athletic career at Alfred University, where he played college football and began building toward the future he had imagined.
Then suddenly, life changed.
His Fight and the People Who Carried Him
During his freshman year at Alfred University, Josh began experiencing fatigue, night sweats, and weight loss. At first, the symptoms were easy to explain away. He was a college athlete. He was busy. He was young. He expected his body to push through.
While on his way home from Alfred for winter break, Josh and his brother Pat were involved in a car accident during snowy conditions near Painted Post, New York. Thankfully, both survived. Pat was not injured, and Josh was badly bruised.
The next morning, Josh went outside to shovel his parents’ driveway and sidewalk. When he came back inside, his mother, Mary, saw him struggle to get up the stairs.
She knew something was wrong.
At St. Joseph’s Hospital, doctors discovered a mass in Josh’s chest. After further testing, he was diagnosed with late-stage Hodgkin’s disease, a cancer of the lymphatic system. His oncologist, Dr. Rose Byland, described the tumor as roughly the size of a small football.
Josh was 19 years old — a college football player, a son, a brother, and a young man suddenly facing cancer.
Treatment began quickly. Months of chemotherapy, radiation, appointments, tests, waiting rooms, side effects, and long nights became part of his life. His body changed dramatically. The strength he had built through years of sports faded. He lost more than 50 pounds, dropping to 119 pounds at his lowest.
There were days when even simple movement took effort.
But Josh did not face the fight alone.
His parents, Jim and Mary, stood beside him. Coaches, teammates, doctors, friends, and family surrounded him. People showed up in hospital rooms, at appointments, through phone calls, prayers, and everyday acts of support.
Even while undergoing treatment, Josh stayed connected to school. Still an Alfred University student, he continued his education locally by taking classes through Elmira College while he received treatment at home. In the middle of chemotherapy, radiation, and everything that came with his diagnosis, Josh completed a full 16-credit course load and maintained above a 3.0 GPA.
Academics became one more piece of normal life cancer could not fully take from him.
And through the hardest stretches, he held onto the hope of one day returning to the football field — not because football mattered more than survival, but because it represented the life cancer had interrupted.
“I was scared to death. I remember thinking, I don’t know how many more days I’ve got left.” – Josh Palmer
Our Mission
In the spring of 2000, Josh was given a chance to return to football at Mansfield University under head coach Joe Gilbert.
For Josh, returning to the field was not about proving anything to anyone. It was about reclaiming a piece of life cancer had interrupted.
After dropping to 119 pounds during treatment, he worked to rebuild his body, training, lifting, running, and consuming thousands of calories a day to regain strength.
At Mansfield, Josh also reunited with Mike Cerasuolo, his former Alfred coach and mentor, who had supported him through diagnosis and recovery.
“The kid is the most upbeat kid you ever met, considering all he’s gone through and all he’s done for other people.”
— Mike Cerasuolo
Coach Joe Gilbert made it clear that Josh was not there out of sympathy.
“I don’t think anyone will go easy on him. And Josh doesn’t want that either. He is good enough to play for us. He’s not receiving the job because of that disease.”
— Joe Gilbert
Josh returned as a defensive back and punt returner.
He had fought his way back.
And for a time, the dream lived again.
Then came another setback.
The Community That Carries the Mission
The Josh Palmer Fund grew because people kept showing up.
Family members. Friends. Coaches. Teachers. Athletes. Schools. Businesses. Volunteers. Donors. Sponsors. Patients. Survivors. The Community.
The Fund became a reflection of the Twin Tiers — a place where sports, service, and compassion came together.
The JP Fund Basketball Tournament
The Josh Palmer Fund grew because people kept showing up.
Family members. Friends. Coaches. Teachers. Athletes. Schools. Businesses. Volunteers. Donors. Sponsors. Patients. Survivors. The Community.
The Fund became a reflection of the Twin Tiers — a place where sports, service, and compassion came together.
The JP Fund Basketball Tournament filled gyms with energy and purpose.
The Pigskin Classic at Mansfield University turned a football game into a lasting tradition of support.
The 100-Inning Game, led by Coach Jeff Limoncelli who Josh played JV basketball for at Elmira Southside high school, showed how endurance and teamwork could serve a greater cause.
The Annual Golf Tournament brought people together year after year in friendship, remembrance, and generosity.
These events have never been just events.
They are how a community says:
You are not alone.
The connection between Josh, Mansfield University, and the Fund became one of the most meaningful parts of the journey. The Josh Palmer Pigskin Classic was created as a way to raise money for the Fund and honor the mission that had grown from Josh’s battle with cancer. Steve McCloskey, Joe Gilbert, Mike Cerasuolo, Chris Woods, and the Mansfield football community all helped carry that tradition forward.
“Josh is such an inspiration to everyone around him. It is an honor for the university to be associated with his cause. Josh’s dad once said that once they made a commitment, it’s forever. We feel the same way.”
— Steve McCloskey
A commitment. Forever.
His Story Still Being Written
Today, the Josh Palmer Fund continues to provide direct financial support to local cancer patients and families facing the burdens of diagnosis and treatment.
The Fund has provided nearly $2 million in assistance.
But the true impact is not only in the number.
It is in the family able to get to treatment.
The patient helped with medication.
Th
Today, the Josh Palmer Fund continues to provide direct financial support to local cancer patients and families facing the burdens of diagnosis and treatment.
The Fund has provided nearly $2 million in assistance.
But the true impact is not only in the number.
It is in the family able to get to treatment.
The patient helped with medication.
The household receiving support with utilities or expenses.
The parent who has one less burden during an already overwhelming time.
The young person reminded that they are not alone.
The person who feels, even for a moment, that someone is standing with them.
Over the years, Josh, his family, and the Fund have received meaningful recognition. There have been awards, hall of fame inductions, community honors, and even the naming of the waiting room at Falck Cancer Center in honor of the Josh Palmer Fund.
Those honors are meaningful.
But they are not the reason the work continues.
The reason is people.
Patients. Families. Children. Young adults. Neighbors. Friends. Community members who need support during one of the hardest chapters of their lives.
The Josh Palmer Fund carries Josh’s name, but the story has never belonged to Josh alone.
It belongs to every person who helped carry him through treatment.
It belongs to the coaches who believed in him.
It belongs to the doctors and nurses who cared for him.
It belongs to the family members who never left his side.
It belongs to the volunteers who organize events.
It belongs to the athletes who play for something bigger than themselves.
It belongs to the donors who give.
It belongs to the community who supports the mission year after year.
It belongs to the patients and families who remind everyone why the mission matters.
Josh’s journey helped spark the Fund, but the purpose has always been helping others.
That is why the story is shared.
Not to celebrate one person.
But to continue a mission.
“Until no one on Earth has cancer, the Josh Palmer Fund will be there.”
The Story of Josh Palmer
Our Partnerships
