Jean M. Palazola

Jean M. (Hubbard) Palazola, 80 Jean M. (Hubbard) Palazola, 80, of Danvers, the beloved wife of the late Joseph J Palazola died peacefully Friday night, January 15th with her family around her at the Kaplan House in Danvers. Jean finally succumbed to cancer following a long and courageous fight. Jean is most well known for being the mother of 10 children, being one of the founders of Palazola's Sporting Goods of Gloucester, and also for being an enthusiastic sports fan. Jean was born and raised in Gloucester. As a 7 year old her father gave her a football for her birthday and, as they say, the rest is history, a sports enthusiast was born. At age 10 Jean would pick fresh blue berries and sell them to people in the neighborhood, making enough money to buy her own bicycle, an accomplishment she was very proud of. In high school Jean met her husband Joe, an all-star football player. Jean was an accomplished athlete herself playing basketball and softball in High School and was a very good self taught figure skater. Jean also prided herself academically as she had perfect attendance all 4 years of High School, an incredible accomplishment. Jean married Joe shortly after High School and they had her first two children while Joe was at Georgetown University on a football scholarship. Jean continued having children for the next 15 years. Jean & Joe both encouraged all their children to partake in athletics. And of course it was football for all four of the boys, the most notable being Jay and Marc who were both High School all-stars, Jay going to Notre Dame and Boston College and Marc going to Boston University both on a full scholarships. Jean really loved going to all of her children's games and was proud of all their accomplishments. After living in California for a year and then Arizona for a year the Palazola family moved back to Gloucester in 1963 and resided at 40 Beacon St which became the family home for the next 33 years. It was shortly thereafter that Jean's husband Joe began a long and arduous battle with kidney disease, undergoing 5 kidney transplants during this time, one of which was donated by his mother Anna and another by his sister Kathleen. This left Jean with the responsibilty of raising 10 young children with a severely sick husband who was continually in and out of the hospital with complications from his kidney transplants. Jean never complained and she never felt sorry for herself. Enduring this time was truly a testament of who she was, her resolve, her sense of purpose and her strength of character. These were the same traits she displayed later in life during her own battle with cancer Her husband Joe survived his battle with kidney disease but the transplants never lasted and he eventually became a dialysis patient. Although partially disabled Joe was still able to live a productive life for many more years. In 1975 Joe, Jean and their oldest son Jack decided to start Palazola's Sporting Goods on Main Street in Gloucester, an idea that seemed a natural for such a sports oriented family. After a challenging start the store eventually became successful. Years later the store expanded across the street from its original location, where it is still going strong today. In 1984 Jean & Joe decided to install an inground pool in their backyard and instantly 40 Beacon became the place to be in the summer for the next generation of kids - the grandchildren, and there were many of them. It was a great environment for all the young "cousins" to play or swim or to just hang out with each other. The "cousins" formed such strong relationships with each other during that time that they are all still very close today. Over the last few years, Jean would often reflect back on those fond memories of her young grandchildren learning to swim in her pool, all the 4th of July parties - watching the fireworks from her deck, the cookouts and all the great times that the family would have there. Little did Jean know at the time, but by installing the pool it brought the whole family back together. It turned into a very special place for all the family members with memories they continue to cherish. As the grandchildren grew up the family sports tradition continued. All of her grandchildren participated in sports at one time or another, many of them achieving great success. Her grandson Josh was an outstanding Cross Country runner and middle distance runner in track. A two time high school All American, he won 4 individual state championships in track and cross country, multiple state relay championships as well as being a key contributor in four Gloucester High School State Championships in Track and Cross Country. Josh was also a member of the Distance Medley Relay Team that won a National Championship, setting a National Record that still stands; her grandson Nolan, as a freshman, led Manchester High School to a Superbowl Championship. Then as a sophmore Nolan led Gloucester High School to a Superbowl Championship. Jean' s granddaughter Mimi Khan also won a National Track Championship in the Sprint Medley Relay. Grandchildren Bryan, Erin, Amber, Jenelle, Jayme, Joseph John "JJ" Luney, EJ McCollum & Renee Nassar were all solid High School athletes. Jake & Sarah, both sophomores, are budding stars at Danvers High School. Jean really enjoyed watching all her grandchildren's games and events encouraging them all to be best they could be. She was a very positive influence in their lives as they recognized her passion and enthusiasm for sports as well as for life. Jean was also a huge Boston sports fan, her favorite being the N E Patriots, no surprise there, as football was her favorite sport. Jean was also a big Red Sox and Celtics fan and was really excited about their recent championships. She often called family members late at night after big games because she was so excited she couldn't sleep and wanted to talk about the game. After spending a few years in Florida Jean realized she was a New England girl at heart and moved back to Massachusetts. She spent the last several years living upstairs in her daughter Lori's two family in Danvers, near all her favorite shopping spots. Jean was also an avid gardener, she loved working in her gardens and in the yard and would do so for hours at a time. She once won an award from the Gloucester Civic & Garden Club for her beautiful gardens. And even during the last few years, in between her cancer treatments, if she was having a good day you would see her outside working in the garden. In March of 2009 the family organized a surprise 80th Birthday for her at the Village Green in Danvers, an event that turned into quite a party. When Jean walked in she was totally surprised and gave one of her famous high leg kicks, her signature expression of glee. Even at the age of 80 she could still kick her foot up as high as her neck. Although Jean was right in the middle of her cancer treatments at the time, she was the one that did not want the party to end, watching her children and grandchildren sing karaoke late into the night. That is just the way she was. She is survived by her ten children, Joseph J. "Jack" Palazola Jr. and his wife Linda, David B. Palazola and his wife Lisa all of Gloucester, Donna P. (Palazola) Nassar and her husband Raymond of North Andover, Paula J. (Palazola) Garry of Tampa, FL, Jay R. Palazola and his wife Cherrill of Gloucester, Kris M. (Palazola) Khan and her husband Tauqir of Hopewill, NJ, Marc J. Palazola and his wife Claudia of Danvers, Sandra J. (Palazola) McCollum of Gloucester, Lori A. (Palazola) Wertz and her husband Tom and Jeanne M. Palazola all of Danvers; twenty three grandchildren, Stephanie (Palazola) and her husband Randy O'Neil, Bryan Palazola and his wife Meg, Erin (Palazola) and her husband Casey Arena, Jennelle (Palazola) and her husband Nolan Previte, Jayme Palazola, Nolan Palazola and his wife Jacquelynn, Amber (Palazola) and her husband Ryan Macione, Josh Palazola, Jade (Palazola) and her husband Doug Langley, Nicole McCollum, E.J. McCollum, Joseph J. Luney, Miriam Khan, Gabrielle Khan, Komi Khan, Ambrina Khan, Cory Palazola, Sarah Palazola, Lindsay Garry, Renee Nassar, Natalie Nassar, Jake Palazola and Victoria Wertz; seven great-grandchildren, Brooke Cleary, Harper Langley, Liliana Previte, William Previte, Brayden Palazola, Elle Arena, Marley Palazola and four more on the way; her sisters, Marion (Hubbard) Murray and her husband Dexter and Marcia (Hubbard) O'Connor and her husband David all of Gloucester; her in-laws, Jean, wife of the late Vito Palazzola, Busty & Josie Palazzola, Kathleen & John Scola all of Gloucester and Francine & Jimmy Cavanaugh of Rotunda, Florida; special friends, Faye MacDonald, Gert Silviera, Nanny Doucette, Marie Swinson all of Gloucester and Judy "Grammy" Cross of Beverly. Jean will also be fondly remembered by many nieces, nephews and friends. She was pre-deceased by her parents, James Hubbard III and Margaret (Groves) Hubbard; her brother, James "Jim" Hubbard IV; her grandmother, Nanny Groves and two special friends, Paige MacGinnis and Doris Webber. Her Funeral Mass will be celebrated in St. Ann's Church, Holy Family Parish on Tuesday, January 19, at 11:00 a.m. Relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend. The burial will be held in Calvary Cemetery, Gloucester. Visiting hours in the Greely Funeral Home, 212 Washington St., Gloucester, are on Monday (today) from 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations in loving memory of Jean M. Palazola, may be sent to Multiple Myeloma Research Fund, Mass. General Hospital Cancer Center, c/o Development Office, Boston, MA 02114 or to The Hospice of the North Shore, Kaplan Family Hospice House, 78 Liberty Street, Danvers, MA 01923, where Jean was so lovingly taken care of. Online condolences may be given at www.greelyfuneralhome.com