Portsmouth, NH:  Joan M. (Donohue) Palermo, R.N., 86, formerly of Haverhill, MA, Plaistow, NH and Portsmouth, NH, died on April 14, 2020 at the Wakefield Center, Wakefield, MA.

Born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, the daughter of the late Michael and Leona (Bouchard) Donahue, she attended St. James Grammar School and St. James High School, graduating with the Class of 1950.  A Registered Nurse, Mrs. Palermo received her nursing diploma from the Catherine Laboure' School of Nursing in Boston and later received both her Bachelor's Degree in Nursing  and her Master's Degree in Nursing from Boston College.  She worked as a Registered Nurse and was part of the training staff at the Carney Hospital in Boston, and was also an instructor in nursing at Northern Essex Community College in Haverhill.

A resident of East Road in Plaistow for thirty-eight years, Mrs. Palermo was a former member of Holy Angels Parish, where she was active in the parish nursing program, counseling elderly parishioners on health and wellness issues and blood pressure monitoring. She moved to Portsmouth in 2008 and was a member of St. Catherine of Siena Parish and Immaculate Conception Parish.  She was an avid reader and was a longtime winter resident of Dunedin, Florida.

The widow of Robert J. Palermo who died in 2013, she was also predeceased by her daughter Karen (Palermo) Malloy. She will be sadly missed and lovingly remembered by her three sons, Robert J. Palermo, Jr. and his wife Christine of Palm Beach Gardens, FL, Michael J. Palermo and his wife Audra of Andover, MA and Richard J. Palermo and his wife Pilar of Portsmouth, NH; a son-in-law, Kevin Malloy of Londonderry, NH; and eight grandchildren, Kelcie, Kirsten, Jessica, Leah, Mia, Cecilia, Aiden, and Dylan.

Due to the National Health Emergency, Mrs. Palermo's services will be held at a later date and are under the direction of Brookside Chapel & Funeral Home, 116 Main St., Plaistow, NH.  In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to the Alzheimers' Association, 309 Waverly Oaks Road, Waltham, MA. To send a message of condolence to the family, please visit our website at www.brooksidechapelfh.com .