Stephen J Ragucci Jr

10 days ago I lost the love of my life, my husband of 21 years, Stephen Ragucci. Steve began having chest pains six weeks ago and was admitted to the emergency room overnight. We were told he had pericarditis (inflammation of the sack surrounding the heart) from having had Covid-19 several months prior and that it was treatable with medication. Despite taking the medication for the pericarditis, Steve's symptoms worsened. We went to the hospital for an MRI appointment on August 10th, and he went into sudden cardiac arrest and passed away. It was determined that he was suffering from a pericardial effusion (fluid surrounding the heart), and they were unable to revive him. Our entire family is shocked and heartbroken by his sudden passing.

Steve was born in Woburn, MA in 1943 to Jennie and Stephen Ragucci Sr. Steve is survived by his two brothers, David and Ralph Ragucci, his daughter Stephanie Ragucci, his son Chris Ragucci, his stepchildren Douglas Boyajian, Mel Boyajian, and Sandra Trodella, his grandchildren Bella Boyajian, Misha Ragucci, Samantha Olenchak, Serena Trodella, and Amber Tardiff, his sister-in-law MaryBeth Ragucci, his niece Jen, cousin Phyllis Martiniello and his god-daughter Angela.

Steve's friendly, easy-going nature made it very easy for him to make friends and he had many interests over his lifetime. He was a camping enthusiast, coin collector, baseball cap collector, golfer, cribbage player, and traveler. He loved the New England Patriots and Italian food! His favorite dish was veal parmigiana with linguine. Many of his customers from the BP Ferry Mart gas station have expressed to me how much they loved Steve and miss him.

Steve was the primary breadwinner in our family and took care of paying all of our bills. We are both in our 70's and the majority of our income comes from our social security benefits, which unfortunately is not enough to pay our mortgage and bills. As a result, Steve worked a minimum wage job right up until the very end of his life at the age of 79 in order for us to make it by. Steve had no life insurance policy or retirement accounts. I was fortunate enough to have a dear family member pay for Steve's cremation and for that I am very grateful.

With Steve's passing, I have no savings and numerous outstanding bills to be paid. Unfortunately, even with social security survivor benefits, I will be unable to pay the mortgage on our already refinanced home or any other pending bills. As a result, I will be selling our home. I am asking for your kindness and generosity to afford the current bills until I am able to sell our home and get back on my feet again. I will forever be grateful for your support.

Sincerely,

Joanne Ragucci