Mr. Speaker, Diana Palmer of Fredericton died on February 7, 2007. Born in Havana, she never lost her love of Cuba. Schooled at Havergal in Toronto and nursing in Hamilton, Ontario, she met the love of her life, Dr. Marven Palmer, of Douglas Harbour, New Brunswick in Montreal in 1955. Moving to Fredericton later, she was a pillar of the community and a close confidante of progressive Premier Richard Hatfield.
The proud mother of two daughters—one a kindergarten teacher and cultural activist, and the other a renowned director—and a son who became a physician, she was among the most progressive people in her province. Her daughter-in-law and world renowned author, Anne-Marie Macdonald, stated in her eulogy:
This tropical flower, this English rose, this bird of paradise became a Canadian. Many waters cannot guard love. Love never dies. Marven and Diana are a love story; more than half a century of a romance partnership fanned out through us all.
Diana Palmer lived an immigrant's dream with respect for all, a model to all parliamentarians and Canadians.