Anne Palmer

Knowing that surfing conditions were prime, Anne (Sullivan) Palmer, her sons, and their friends raced down to a Scituate, Massachusetts beach to catch as many waves as they could before a thunderstorm rolled through. A self-proclaimed beach bum, Anne loved the ocean in all its forms – from reading on a sunny day to chasing storms and shooting photos.

After living fully with cancer for eight years, the nearly life-long Scituate resident passed away peacefully on July 5, 2020, with her family holding her hands. Anne, 60, had a strong, deep faith and was guided by the “Serenity Prayer” since her teens, when she earned the nickname “Smiley.” She lived her faith by example, frequently saying “God’s driving the bus” and anything is possible with God.

She and her husband Jeff began dating when Anne was 20, and their life was a true love story, starting off in the college cafeteria when Jeff threw a dinner roll at Anne and she caught it and hurled it back. When first married, Anne and Jeff volunteered with their church for marriage preparation counseling, and throughout their lives together, they showed what a good marriage and partnership looks like.

Advancing cancer prevented them from taking a planned RV trip to see family and friends in the Midwest, but in typical Anne fashion, she made the best of it: she and Jeff celebrated their 35th anniversary instead with a brief trip to the Adirondacks. She often said cancer had been a blessing because it introduced her to people she wouldn’t have met otherwise and allowed her to inspire others.

Anne, who earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Wisconsin, attended all her sons’ sporting events in high school and college, as well as those of her nieces and nephews, traveling around the North East. Anne’s devotion to family made her the glue that held them together. She helped organize several family reunions, reconnecting long-lost relatives and developing deep relationships with first and second cousins. She could usually be spotted behind the camera capturing memories. Right up until the end, she sent get-well cards, encouraging texts and emails to loved ones.

Anne was a multi-sport and fiercely competitive college athlete who brought her competitive edge to family card games as much as she did to athletics. A full-time mom while raising her three sons, she got up at 4:30 a.m. to run and reflect before facing the demands of the day. She volunteered for several years as the Scituate Soccer Club president and as a board member and co-founded the Scituate Education Association.

Anne learned she had breast cancer on June 22, 2012. When her doctor asked her if she wanted her husband to be with her, Anne said it was their wedding anniversary and she didn’t want him to remember their anniversary that way.

After completing chemo treatment, she ran a half-marathon, her third of the year. She wanted to continue to give back to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute after completing her treatment, and, inspired by her son’s 24-hour longboarding race, the Miami Ultra Skate, started training. In January of 2013, she skateboarded for 24 straight hours on a NASCAR track, pushing through the night and praying for all those she and her family knew afflicted with cancer. For seven years, longboarding became one of her main passions, providing an avenue to travel and make new friends. After nearly five years in remission, Anne developed metastatic breast cancer in December 2017. Nonetheless, she completed the Ultra Skate for another three years. She raced all over the country and was known for her smile, encouragement of others and tenacious spirit. She inspired many other riders, especially women, and raised more than $30,000 for Dana-Farber. Equally as important to her were the hundreds of friends she made and countless memories she shared on her skating adventures.

Before cancer, Anne was a private person, but she shared her story to encourage others to live life fully. She and her son, Kevin, also a cancer survivor, gave media interviews for the Jimmy Fund fundraisers for Dana-Farber. A lifelong Red Sox fan, she threw out the first pitch at Fenway Park in 2018.

She joked easily and loved unconditionally. She made connections with strangers wherever she went. After she finished chatting with someone, her kids would ask, “Mom, do you know them?” Anne responded, “I do now.”

Anne embraced life fully – traveling to South Africa, Italy and Ireland; skiing in Utah, Colorado and California, even this past winter. On a whim in 2004, she drove with her two oldest sons to Toronto to see a Red Sox game. Anne coordinated a five-week, cross-country family road trip on Route 20 one summer when the boys were in elementary school.

An analyst in the accounts payable/receivable department at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, in 2018 she won the company’s Excellence in Service Award for her work in support of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and RFK Children’s Action Corps. She taught her school-age sons about the value of service, challenging them to raise money for charity by giving up TV for a year. Two of them served in the Peace Corps and the third works for a nonprofit.

Long before getting cancer, Anne wrote to a niece, “You can worry about everything or you can live life like it is your last day. As I have said a million times: Every day is a gift from God; do your best to enjoy it.”

She lived by those words. In her final hours, Jeff leaned toward her face and said, “I love you” and joked, “Do you love me?” Anne replied, “I am blessed.”

She was predeceased by her father, Paul J. Sullivan and her older brother, Kevin Sullivan. In addition to her husband, Jeff, Anne is survived by her sons Kevin, of Scarborough, Maine; Eric, of Bellingham, Washington; and Brian, of Cape Town, South Africa; her mother, Theresa (Demeo) Sullivan, of Scituate; five siblings, John Sullivan (Una Armstrong), of Scituate; Theresa Sullivan Barger (Glenn Barger), of Canton, Connecticut; Mark Sullivan, of Craig, Colorado; Brian Sullivan (Annie Kelly); and Bill Sullivan, both of Scituate; and 12 nieces and nephews.

Because of COVID-19 concerns, the family has canceled the visitation originally planned for Thursday, July 16, 2020 at Richardson-Gaffey Funeral Home, Scituate. The funeral Mass at St. Anthony’s Church in Cohasset, on Friday, July 17, at 11 a.m., will be private because of the pandemic, but it will be live-streamed via YouTube, at https://bit.ly/304V2ak and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/stanthonycohasset/

Here is a link to the parish’s YouTube and Instagram channels: YouTube: Christ by the Sea and Instagram: christbythesea To learn about COVID-19-safe practices to expect, here is a link to information on the church website. At a later date, when family and friends can gather safely, the family will plan a celebration of Anne’s life.

In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in memory of Anne C. Palmer to support Run Any Race/metastatic breast cancer research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, P.O. Box 849168, Boston, MA 02284 or via https://bit.ly/2ZbqK6C or to the Flip Kick Skateboard program: www.gofundme.com/f/the-flip-kick-program or send used skateboarding/longboarding gear to 308 Fair Hill Dr., Elkton, MD 21921