Former University of South Carolina First Lady Norma Cannon Palms dies at 84

A former University of South Carolina First Lady has died, the school announced Wednesday.

Norma Cannon Palms, who was 84 years old, was the university’s first lady from 1991 — when her husband, John Palms, was named president — until 2002, according to her online obituary.

“Mrs. Palms was best known for her grace, attention to detail, sense of aesthetics, and most of all, a genuine interest in everyone she met,” the USC Alumni Association said in a statement posted to Twitter.

Current President Robert Caslen echoed that message, tweeting, “The @UofSC community will always be grateful for Norma Palms’s contributions to our university and the profound legacy she leaves behind.”

The obituary did not list a cause of death for the Charleston native, but said Palms “had recently been battling a number of illnesses, and her husband of 62 years was beside her when she passed away peacefully.”

Palms served on the boards of multiple charities throughout her life, including Providence Hospital, Harvest Hope Food Bank, and the Atlanta Symphony and served as co-chair of the McKissick Museum, according to her obituary. Perhaps her most prestigious award came from Pope Benedict XVI in 2007 for encouraging Catholicism on USC’s campus, according to her obituary.

Many considered Palms to be a great host, and during her 11 years at USC, she supposedly entertained north of one million guests, according to her obituary.

Palms is survived by her husband, three children, and nine grandchildren.