Barbara L. Palermo
LOWELL Barbara L. Palermo, 73, a longtime Lowell resident, passed away Thursday, June 12, 2014, at Lowell General Hospital.
A daughter of the late Joseph and the late Mildred (Hall) Palermo, she was born December 19, 1940, in Lowell and was educated in the Lowell School System. She attended Massachusetts State Teachers’ College where she received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Education and then attained her Masters in Education from the University of North Carolina. She went on to recieve her Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study from the University of Hartford.
She made her home in the Back Central Street Neighbohood residing in her childhood home and was an educator for many years before becoming an Administrator in the Connecticut School System. She was the owner of the first Sylvan Learning Center in New England and wrote a weekly column for the Lowell Sun focusing on neighborhood issues. For many years Barbara was the President of the Back Central Neighborhood Association. She was also a former member of the Board of Directors for the Lowell Development and Financial Corp, was a former member of the Lowell Plan, and was a former member of the Merrimack Valley Housing Partnership. In 2001 she was the recipient of both the CTI Local Hero Award and the Massachusetts Crime Watch Volunteer of the Year Award. In 2002, she was awarded the Wise Woman of the Year Award.
She is survived by her sister, Marguerite Zahoruiko and her husband, Donald, of Palermo, ME; Diane Bilodeau, whom she considered her sister, and her husband, Gerard, of Lowell; her dear aunt, Frances Labonte of Dracut; her sister-in-law, Gloria Palermo; many cousins; her nieces and nephews, Robin Palermo, Jody Teevens, Karen Saxena, Krissy Teevans, William Palermo, JoAnne Downing, MaryJo Palermo-Kirsch, and Alex Palermo; many great nieces and great nephews; and her dear friends affectionately known as ‘The Club’, and her wonderful circle of friends from the Lowell Neighborhood Groups.
She was also a sister of the late Michael Palermo, the late William Palermo, and the late Joseph Palermo, and aunt of the late Mark Palermo, the late Michael Palermo, and the late Kevin Kirsch.
AS SHE REQUESTED, CALLING HOURS HAVE BEEN OMITTED AND HER FUNERAL SERVICE WAS HELD PRIVATELY. ARRANGEMENTS BY THE MCDONOUGH FUNERAL HOME, 14 HIGHLAND STREET, LOWELL 978-458-6816. MEMORIALS IN HER NAME MAY BE SENT TO THE JIMMY FUND,DANA-FARBER CANCER INSTITUTE, PO BOX 849168, BOSTON, MA 02284. E-CONDOLENCE SITE WWW.MCDONOUGHFUNERALHOME.COM
