Alice Palmer, a prominent hospital volunteer, keen socialite and award-winning dancer, has died at the age of 96.

Mrs Palmer was a dedicated head of the pink ladies from the Hospitals Auxiliary of Bermuda, and known to many for her long career at the clothing shop Cecile’s.

Her son, Stuart Outerbridge, called Mrs Palmer’s passing “the end of an era”, while granddaughter Lisabet Outerbridge remembered her as “an amazingly strong woman, deeply involved in the community”.

Originally from Philadelphia, where her father was the head of the Lukens Steel Company, she met her first husband, A. Stuart Outerbridge, when she travelled to the island for a wedding in the late 1930s.

Mr Outerbridge owned the Swizzle Inn as well as a popular nightclub at Devil’s Hole, the Angel’s Grotto. The couple had four children: Calley Frith, and Alexis, Stuart and Wolcott Outerbridge.

Athletic and nimble on her feet, Mrs Palmer was a gifted ballroom dancer with a gold medal from the famed dancer Arthur Murray, and she taught dance from her own studio in Hamilton. According to Wolcott “Cotty” Outerbridge, “virtually everyone our age who can keep a step going in formal dancing owes it to Alice”.

Stuart Outerbridge recalled the family home at Callen Glen by Bailey’s Bay as a paradise for children, where their parents entertained keenly.

“She loved the social aspect of life and was always beautifully dressed up to the nines,” he added.

An avid tennis player at Coral Beach, Mrs Palmer was also an accomplished golfer who won tournaments, and a skilled bridge player and member of the Bridge Club.

After separating from her husband, she married Jack Woodall, a former Director of Transportation, moving to the residence “Girven” on Harbour Road, Paget.

She was later married a third time, to the lawyer Anthony Palmer and moved to the Warwick residence “Granaway Gate”, where she lived the rest of her life.