Joyce C. (Rafuse) Longo

Joyce C. (Rafuse) Longo of Merrimack, NH passed away peacefully after succumbing to Alzheimer’s Disease on December 2, 2024. She was surrounded by family and friends during her last days at Elliot Hospital.

Joyce was born on February 15, 1940, in Rumford, Maine. She was the daughter of Harvey Rafuse and Anita M. Aucoin (Rafuse) Pataky, and was the step-daughter of Joseph Pataky.

After leaving Maine, Joyce lived shortly in Connecticut and Florida and back to Maine before settling in the Nashua, NH area, where she became a well-respected loan officer before becoming an office assistant at a Nashua law firm.

Joyce became known as “Dauntie” when her grand-niece Jennifer became old enough to speak. Joyce loved that nickname much more than her given name. Even near the end, when she had some difficulty with her memory, calling her Dauntie always brought a smile to her face.

Joyce loved to entertain and to be entertained. She enjoyed all types of music, and she loved to sing and dance. Joyce also enjoyed painting in her spare time. Joyce had a wonderful sense of humor. She was also a wonderful baker. Joyce’s chocolate chip cookies and her chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting were second to none! Last but not least, Joyce became a huge Red Sox fan, and she started requesting print outs of the roster every year beginning in February so she was well-prepared for the upcoming season.

Joyce is survived by her niece and her husband, Beverly (Chase) Duggan and James Duggan, and their daughter, Jennifer (Duggan) Jones and her husband, Alex. In addition, Joyce is survived by her brother, Kenneth Rafuse. Joyce has many nieces and nephews including Raymond Chase, Jr., Mitchell Chase and his wife Theresa, Rachael Chase, Michael Rafuse, Carla (Evans) Ranck and her husband, Ryan, and Renee (Rafuse) Hall. She also had grandnieces and grandnephews including Anna, Emily, Dylan, Jason, Amanda, Cameron, Kelsey, and Lauren.

Joyce was pre-deceased by her brother, Norman Rafuse, and her sisters Hilda (Rafuse) Chase and her husband, Raymond Chase, Sr., June (Rafuse) Evans and her husband, Carl Evans, and her brother Kenneth’s wife, Carol.

Joyce’s family would like to thank the entire staff at Bowman Place, where Joyce spent the last two and one-half years of her life in the memory care unit. The staff members were more like family than the incredible caregivers that they were, and we are forever grateful.

Visitation hours will be held at the Rivet Funeral Home, 425 Daniel Webster Highway, Merrimack on Saturday, January 4 from noon until 1:00. A service will follow beginning at 1:00.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Joyce to Friends of Bowman Charitable Fund, 24 Old Bedford Road, Bedford, NH 03110

Kindly visit rivetfuneralhome.com to leave an online condolence for the family.