GUILDERLAND — Gertrude (née Colasanti) Palmeri left work to raise the three sons she adored and then, when they were grown, had a career hosting children’s birthday parties.

Mrs. Palmeri died in her sleep on Monday, May 11, 2015, after a long battle with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), cancer, and heart disease.

The youngest of the hard-working Colasanti family of Brooklyn, Mrs. Palmeri, known to her family and friends as “Trudy,” was born on March 24, 1936. She was a lifelong Brooklyn resident who retired to Guilderland to be near her family.

She met the love of her life, Korean War veteran Frank Palmeri, at a pizzeria in Brooklyn.

A graduate of Grover Cleveland High School, she started working her way up the ranks at the Hartford Mutual Insurance Company before leaving to become a stay-at-home mother to her three sons whom she adored.

“When the nest became empty,” her family wrote in a tribute, “she enjoyed a second career at McDonald’s becoming the most popular children’s birthday party host they ever had.

“She loved listening to the radio, doing crossword puzzles, watching ‘Wheel of Fortune,’ and eating the most delicious meatballs prepared by her beloved husband, Frank,” her family wrote. “Her greatest joys by far came from reveling in the successes of her three sons, her grandchildren and her many nieces and nephews.”

She was a lifelong Catholic and received great comfort from her faith.

Mrs. Palmeri is survived by her husband of almost 60 years, Frank Palmeri; her sons Frank Palmeri and his wife, Charlotte, Anthony Palmeri and his wife, Lori, and James Palmeri and his wife, Robyn; her grandchildren, Ira Martin and Meredith Bain, Heather Palmeri and her fiancé,  Ricky Gebe, Derek Palmeri, and Hannah Palmeri; her great-grandchildren Owen Martin and Regan Martin; and many nieces and nephews.

On May 18, a Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at St. Madeleine Sophie Church in Guilderland with interment following at the Saratoga National Cemetery. Arrangements were by the DeMarco Stone Funeral Home in Guilderland.