Margaret R. Palmer

Margaret Palmer passed away peacefully on Sept 4, 2022 with family by her side. She was born in Anniston, AL, on April 24, 1926, then moved to Columbus, GA and onto Macon, GA where she lived with her parents Herbert and Florence Rigby. She attended the University of Georgia and graduated in 1949 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Drama.

Margaret and Tom Palmer met while they were attending UGA. They were married on July 6, 1946 at the Vineville Baptist Church in Macon. They welcomed Steve in 1948 and Susan in 1951. Steve has always been interested in airplanes and enjoyed a career working for Delta Airlines. Susan was good at many things which led to a career with the USDA Forest Service in Land Exchanges and Ownership for over 20 years.

Margaret was the creator, developer, and guiding light behind Hillsborough House of Hope. In the mid-1980s, Margaret and a group of volunteers from a local Bible study class began an informal women’s ministry at the Hillsborough County Jail. God told Margaret to intercede into these women’s lives to help change their futures. She and the board ran a small not-for-profit organization to reach this goal. Houses have been procured for the women to stay in after leaving jail. The houses are group homes where the women establish themselves in new lives before moving out on their own. These are not halfway houses, but Houses of Hope.

Margaret is survived by her son Steven and spouse Sharlie. She was Grandmother to two grandsons, Mike and Ryan Daugherty, Great Grandma to one great-granddaughter, Olivia Daugherty, and mother-in-law to Michael Daugherty and Sharlie Palmer. She is preceded in death by her Parents, husband Tom Carroll Palmer, and daughter Susan Daugherty.

A Celebration of Life for Margaret is scheduled for 11am on October 7, 2022 at Hyde Park United Methodist Church located at 500 W Platt St, Tampa, FL 33606 followed by a reception at the Harnish Center. In lieu of flowers, donations are requested to be sent to the Hillsborough House of Hope Building Fund and can be made online at Hhhopefl.org or mailed to Hillsborough House of Hope, PO Box 320064, Tampa, FL 33629.