RICHFIELD SPRINGS - Helen M. Palmer, age 75, of County Highway 16, Hartwick, passed away on Thursday afternoon Feb. 2, 2006 in Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital, Cooperstown. She was born on July 11, 1930 in Rhinebeck, daughter of the late Mark and Myrtle Bowman Piester. On Oct. 10, 1964, she married George Washington Palmer in Poughkeepsie, a loving and devoted union of 35 years, he preceded her in death on Aug. 13, 2000. Mrs. Palmer and her family came to Richfield Springs in 1970. A graduate of New Paltz State Teachers College, she taught kindergarten in the Richfield Springs Central School for 25 years. She was a member of the New York State Retired Teachers Association and the AARP. To all who knew her, they will remember her warm smile and caring manner. She was happiest when she was surrounded by her many friends and family especially her grandchildren and great-granddaughter. Surviving are two daughters and their husbands, JoAnn and Dexter Smith of New Berlin, Sandra and Michael Bailey of Paisley, Fla.; three sons, Thomas and his wife, Barbara Palmer, of Rhode Island, Robert and Tracey Palmer of Wellington, Fla. and Jerry Ingle of Hartwick; one sister, Eleanor and her husband, Eduard Hericourt of Rhinebeck; eight grandchildren, one great-granddaughter, a niece and nephew. Funeral service and committal were private and at the convenience of her family. Expressions of sympathy may be made with memorial donations to the American Heart Association. Funeral arrangements are with J. Seaton McGrath Funeral Home, Richfield Springs