Before Losing Her to Terminal Cancer, Arnold Palmer Broke Down After an Earnest 5-Word Message From His Wife: ‘Couldn’t Talk at Her Funeral’

The late Arnold Palmer’s legacy has been uncharted in golf history. He became an unheralded legend of the game in his prime, creating new records that few could muster. Fans and pundits nicknamed him the ‘King’ for his near-perfect life as a golfer. But towards the years that followed the death of his first wife, Winifred Walzer, Palmer was deeply saddened to talk about it. He seldom spoke much about her final years, but the 7-time Major Championship winner once let it all out about Walzer’s final words in an emotional interview.

Winifred Walzer’s last words for husband Arnold Palmer

Walzer and Palmer married each other in 1954, a year before the latter won his inaugural PGA event, the Canadian Open. The pair shared a close bond as Palmer secured sky-high status as one of golf’s greatest-ever players.

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But health took a toll on the married couple. Initially, Palmer was at the opposite end of prostate cancer, but constant medication healed him from the disease. However, the moment it left the pro golfer, his wife Walzer was diagnosed with the same issue.

“That was in late October, in 1998. We always thought she was going to make it, right up to the end,” Palmer remembered. He also remembered her last words on her deathbed. “One of the last things she told me was, ‘Get on with your life.’”

Walzer planned for her death years before her demise

In the same segment, Palmer revealed her ultimate demise weighed him down at her funeral. “I couldn’t talk at her funeral,” he said. But her late wife had chalked up her own funeral activities, too.

“Winnie had written out her own funeral service, what music she wanted played, what prayers read,” Palmer revealed. “Turns out, she had done all that planning a year before she died.”

Winifred Walzer breathed her last on November 20, 1999. Her demise deeply saddened Palmer, but he was reluctant to speak about it. However, the ‘King’ sought his late wife’s final advice and decided to move on with his life. He re-married Kathleen Gawthrop, who remained by his side in his last days.

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