Adam Lucas Palazzo
An amazing and radiant soul, Adam lived fully as a biomedical researcher, avid hiker, lover of nature, and devoted husband, son, brother, uncle, and friend. On August 30, 2020, one day short of his 40th birthday, he set out on his final hike and departed this earth in the midst of a place he loved to explore.
His journey began at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Staten Island, New York. He attended Public School 45 in West Brighton before moving with his family to Scottsdale, Arizona, in 1991. In Arizona, he attended Cocopah Middle School, Chaparral High School, and the University of Arizona, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology. After graduation, he worked at Baylor University in Dallas as a scientist. In 2010, he moved to San Francisco, California, to work for Nodality and then Gilead Sciences, where he specialized in immunology. He was passionate about science, and his research helped create treatments for hepatitis, cancer, and autoimmune diseases.
In 2015, Adam met the love of his life, Jamon (Jay) Bollock. When Jay got a job in Seattle, Adam followed him and started a position with Gilead there as well. Adam and Jay were married on January 13, 2017, with family and friends celebrating with them on September 10th of the same year at the Seattle Aquarium.
While he was passionate about life, his family, and his friends, he was also enamored with the great outdoors. Adam loved hiking and visited trails all over the world. Trips to Arches National Park, Kauai and the Big Island of Hawaii, New Zealand, the French Alps, and Spain were a few of his grand adventures. When not communing with nature, this scientist and scholar also enjoyed reading, welcoming any opportunity to gather with friends. He brought us great joy, and his smile and laughter filled any room. He was witty, sharp, lovable, and kind -- he made everyone feel loved and important with each interaction.
As we remember all of the things Adam loved, we also celebrate how Adam loved each of us deeply and uniquely. Whether a shared hike, happy dinners, quiet glasses of wine, boisterous board games, patient phone calls, or timely texts, Adam brightly shined into all of our lives as only he could. Going forward, we will still see his immense love reflected all around us, but especially in the natural world he so enjoyed.
Adam’s spirit lives on in his beloved husband, Jamon Bollock of Bellevue, Washington; his parents, Anne and Sal Palazzo of Scottsdale, Arizona; his siblings Paul Palazzo and Allen Moyer of Brooklyn, New York, Mark and Kim Palazzo of Phoenix, Arizona, Beth Ann and Ken Coleman of Chula Vista, California; and his in-laws Jan, Bill, and Justin Bollock of Rapid City, South Dakota. He continues to inspire his nieces, Meredith Claire and Miranda Hope Coleman, as well as his nephews, Nicholas Chase and Joel Anthony Palazzo. His love of life also continues to shine through the many friends he made throughout his wondrous journey. We will love, celebrate, and miss him always.