Arlene J (Chilson) Palmer of Ashland, MA passed away peacefully Tuesday surrounded by her loving family.

She was the devoted wife of Joseph F Palmer for the past 49 years.  Daughter of the late Beatrice (Monroe) Chilson.  She was the loving mother of; daughter, Linda M. (Palmer) Dark and her husband Mark A. Dark of Blackstone;  son, Bill Palmer of Bangor, ME; and son, Jimmy Palmer and his wife Michele (Hemstreet) Palmer of Holliston, MA.   She was grandmother to Christopher and Kyle Dark of Blackstone, and Janay Pellitier of Uxbridge, MA.

Arlene is also survived by her brother; Bob Chilson of Worcester, MA;  sisters; Jean (Chilson) Dwinnell of Douglas, MA;  Gail (Chilson) Sora and her husband Peter Sora of Viera, FL; Carol (Chilson) Barbrieri of Wauconda, IL; Barbara Merrino-Mayper of Friendswood, TX; Chris Lloyd-Hall and her husband Tim of Newark, NY; and sister-in-law Helen (Palmer) Nyland of Leander, TX.  She is predeceased by her brothers; John, James, Allan, and Michael Chilson all formerly of Milford, MA. and nephew, Lance Corporal Peter "PJ" J Sora, formerly of Londonderry, NH.

She was born in Douglas, brought up in Milford, and with her husband Joe, raised their family in Ashland.  Arlene was a self-made woman who went back to school in her late 30's earning her GED at Keefe Tech in Framingham, MA.  She worked many years at New England Instrument in Natick.  She then moved onto Itech of Needham where she earned various certifications in soldering allowing her to become a quality controller for the Department of Defense work done at ITech.  She retired from Milford Manufacturing in 2006.

Arlene's greatest pleasure was being with her family and friends.  She enjoyed traveling, camping, crocheting and visiting the many casinos nearby.  Arlene was very involved with the Ashland Youth Football league for many years.  She was an avid reader and lover of animals.  She will be greatly missed by her entire family including her cat Angel.

A memorial service will be celebrated Saturday Aug. 20th at 3:00 PM in the Chapel of the Matarese Funeral Home, 325 Main St. in Ashland. Calling hours will be held Saturday from 1:00-3:00 PM prior to the service at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the American Cancer Society, 30 Speen St. Framingham, MA 01702