Saturday, August 11, 2018 10:32 am

DOVER - Joan Evelyn (Ward) Rigazio died peacefully in the company of her family on Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2018, in Dover. She was 92 years old, born on August 26, 1925, in Portland, Maine, the daughter of Sergeant John J. Ward of the Portland Police Department and Alice Valora (Gallant) Ward.
Joan graduated from Cathedral High School in Portland, went on to work as an operator at New England Telephone and Telegraph Company from 1944 to 1957, and later worked at the Globe Department Store. She was a lifelong member of the Telephone Company's Pioneer Club.
In 1957, she married John Rigazio and had five children. Joan loved being a mother and grandmother. She had a great sense of humor and an even bigger heart. Joan was an avid card player who also enjoyed traveling with friends and family. Joan especially loved a good bus trip! She was particularly fond of Prince Edward Island, Canada, where her mother's family settled before coming to the United States. Joan always looked forward to annual "Camp Fun" family vacations in the New Hampshire Lakes Region.
Joan was predeceased by her siblings, Alice Ward Regan, John Ward, and Donald Ward, and son-in-law, George Monusky.
Joan is survived by her children and their spouses, whom she considered her own: Mary-Jo Monusky and husband, Peter Carey, of Portsmouth, N.H.; John Rigazio and wife, Wendy, of Ossipee, N.H.; Linda Carroll and husband, Edward, of Dover, N.H.; Beth Rigazio of Los Angeles, Calif.; and Richard Rigazio and wife, Amy of Derry, N.H.
Joan was the proud grandmother of seven loving grandchildren: Ashley Rigazio, Tyler Rigazio, Edward Carroll, William Carroll, Emily Carroll, Alyssa Rigazio, and Alex Rigazio. She is also survived by her sister, Mary DiPietrantonio, of Westbrook, Maine.