Donna N. Palmer, 80, of Manchester, passed into Gods hands on Wednesday, May 1 at St. Francis Hospital surrounded by her loving family. Donna was born in Springfield, Massachusetts on March 27, 1944, to the late William E. Hayes (Springfield, MA) and Rose Marie (Barbeau) Hayes, (Pownal, VT).

Donna grew up in West Suffield, then moved to Bolton in her early teens, where her parents owned Rose & Bill’s Grocery and Package store on RT 85. After graduating from Manchester High School in 1962, Donna married her childhood sweetheart, Lawrence Palmer of Granby CT. They had two loving sons, Donald and Gregory Palmer.

Donna treasured the love of friends and family the most. Growing up, Donna was always active in her children’s lives, attending their soccer games, being their Cub Scout Den Mother, and active in Boy Scouts. Donna loved children and became the neighborhood mom. Donna loved to host family gatherings for holidays and weekly family dinners, as she derived great pleasure from making others happy and surrounding herself with the love of family. One of her greatest joys is watching her grandson Garrett Palmer grow up and attending his baseball games. Of course, Donna was a New York Yankees fan. Donna loved flowers and gardening. Her happy time is when she had her hands in the dirt planting things. Donna had a very creative side, she loved to decorate, paint, create pottery and ceramics pieces. She loved puzzles and old western movies. Donna was very active in the Bolton Congregational Church as a Life Deacon, chairwoman of the Flower Committee and the Busy Bees of Bolton.

Along with raising her family, her favorite job was working as phlebotomist for the American Red Cross for over 20 years. Her happy, bubbly, outgoing personality created a great fit for working with the public. It was at a Red Cross Blood Drive where Donna met her longtime boyfriend and life partner Joseph Perry.

Donna is survived by her loving sons, Donald Palmer and his wife Jeanne, and Greg Palmer of Manchester; her grandson Garrett Palmer and his mother Susan Tate; her siblings Bill Hayes of Bennington VT, Judy Martzokas of West Springfield MA, Rose Fisch of Manchester; Larry Palmer of San Diego CA and Joseph Perry of Manchester, and many loved nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.