Concord, NH – Joyce Elaine Benson, 87, of Concord, NH passed away on April 28th, 2026 surrounded by her loving family.
Born on February 13th, 1939, in Cleveland Cuyahoga, OH, Joyce was the daughter of Rudolph and Elizabeth ‘Betty’ Pankuch. She is survived by her husband James Hanley, daughter Heidi, son Christopher (Kim), her two beloved granddaughters Emily and Miranda along with cousins, niece and nephews. She is also survived by Jim’s daughters Karen (Ed) and Kristen as well as by grandsons Henry (Gretchen) and Matthew.
She was predeceased by her parents and her brother Bruce.
Joyce was a graduate of Miami University Ohio. After graduation she moved to Manchester, NH where she worked as an art teacher at Weston Elementary. Joyce held various administrative assistant positions at Heidelberg Printing company, NSS Corp, DEKA, and NWML until her retirement.
Joyce was an exceptional artist and received great pleasure sharing her talent with her two granddaughters. For many years she was a member of the New Hampshire Artist Association. She also enjoyed sharing her creativity with the residents at Havenwood Heritage Heights where she and Jim moved in 2017 and where she built a close community of friends.
Joyce and her family hosted many foreign exchange students over the years, and formed close bonds with Kirsten from Germany and Leticia from Brazil who she remained in contact over the years.
Joyce loved the outdoors and gardening. She spent many years as a member of the Always an Adventure group and participated in many hiking, snowshoeing, cross country skiing and kayaking adventures. She had a keen eye for plants and flowers, and her beautiful garden spoke to this talent and love. She also loved to sing and was a choir member at Concordia Lutheran Church and the choir group at HHH.
Faith was important to Joyce and she was an active member of Concordia Lutheran Church in Concord, NH. The family gives its appreciation to Pastor Jon for his presence and guidance during Joyce’s final moments, as she had wished.
As life for Joyce slowed down, she became pen pals with local elementary students. She also supported and helped refugees in the Concord area from Afghanistan. She was an avid reader and book club participant. Her wit , wisdom and signature eyerolls will be dearly missed.
The family would like to express their profound gratitude to the staff at the Jack Byrne Center for Palliative & Hospice Care in Lebanon, NH who made Joyce’s final days as comfortable as possible.
A service will be held on Saturday, May 16th at 3pm at Concordia Lutheran Church in Concord, NH. The family invites you to join them to celebrate Joyce immediately following the service at Barrow’s on the Havenwood Heritage Heights campus.
The family asks in lieu of flowers to consider making a donation in Joyce’s name to one of the following organizations:
-Jack Byrne Center for Palliative & Hospice Care
-Camp Calumet Lutheran
-The Friendly Kitchen of Concord NH
-Family Promise of Greater Concord
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