Mark Longley, 75, of Wrentham, formerly of Needham and Duxbury, passed away peacefully on March 8, 2026. He was the beloved husband of Patricia (Sullivan) Longley.
Born in Needham, MA, on November 11, 1950, Mark was the son of the late Henry and Anne (O’Connor) Longley. He was one of nine children raised in Needham and a graduate of Needham High School.
After high school, Mark began his career as a firefighter in Needham. He later decided to pursue a career in sales and worked for Muzak Sound System before ultimately finding his true calling as an insurance inspector. Mark genuinely enjoyed his work and the many people he met throughout his career.
In 1971, Mark married his best friend, Patty, and together they shared 54 years of marriage. They raised their three children in Duxbury, MA, where they cherished their time by the ocean. After their children were grown, Mark and Patty moved to Plymouth, and in 2018, they relocated to Wrentham to be closer to their children and grandchildren.
Mark was a devoted family man who treasured time spent with those he loved most. He especially enjoyed traveling with Patty and being with his children and grandchildren.
In addition to his loving wife, Patty, Mark is survived by his children: Danielle and her husband, Timothy Antoniotti, of Kingston; Jonathan and his wife, Libby Longley, of Wrentham; and Elizabeth Longley and her wife, Shannyn Gladstone, of Attleboro. He was the cherished grandfather of Mia, Sean, Lydia, and Annie.
He is also survived by his siblings: Henry Longley and his wife Sharon, Pamela Scrima, Martha Hill, Mary Ferzacca and her husband John, John Longley and his wife Julie, and Patrick Longley; his sisters-in-law Christine Sullivan, Jayne Traill, Gail Tuveson and her husband Howie, and Carole Sullivan, as well as many beloved nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
Mark was predeceased by his sister Ann Miller and her husband John Miller, his brother Peter Longley, and his brothers-in-law James Scrima, TJ Hill, and Neil Sullivan.
At this time, services are private.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Mark’s memory may be made to Hope Health at www.hopehealthco.org.
https://www.rjrossfuneralhomeinc.com/obituaries/Mark-E-Longley?obId=47511307
Walter S. Morris
Fellow Classmates,
I want to share a couple of short thoughts about Mark. Mark was a year or two older than me. It will sound funny but the age difference elevated Mark to playing the role of being a mentor. Transitioning from St. Joseph's to Pollard was more of a change than I thought it might be. Mark's easy-going attitude helped me chill out.
Years after Needham High Mark called and asked me to come over to his house. I had no idea at the time that Mark and his family had purchased the first home my family owned at 45 Lewis St. I don't remember what Mark was doing for employment at the time but I remember that he had a business opportunity. It might have been insurance of some sort. The important thing is that we had so much fun, not to mention that it was a trip being back in the old house.
I'll never forget Mark's warmth, his concern for his family & friends and his giant smile. Mark's Mom was also an amazing person.
Mark's spirit will stay with us. Thanks to everyone for sharing the love!
Walter
John Knox
Mark was a great guy and wonderful teammate in football and track. Among many fond memories was Mark's "bachelor party" which was something new for those of us just out of high school. As I recall we loaded 8 or 10 guys in a pickup truck with a keg someone had bought for us and drove around the back streets of Needham and Dover. Nobody fell off the truck and we didn't get into any real trouble as I recall but it was certainly an activity that would be frowned upon these days. My condolences to Mark's family.
Laurie Baldelli (Carney)
Mark........he has the best smile..his mouth AND eyes smiled! His sister, Martha shared that same "smile"and laugh. God bless his family and friends with beautiful memories
Nancy Herendeen (Bonoli)
I will remember Mark as a gentle giant that walked among us. Condolences to his family.
Jan Worthington
I remember Mark well. A lovely, gentle person. Not surprised that he was a firefighter - the best among us. Condolences to his loved ones.
Jack Friel
Mark was an all around good guy and friendly to everyone. Mark and I became good friends on the Pollard football team, Mark was the starting lineman on both sides of the ball, I was the bench warmer. We had many crazy weekends on the cape in his Woodie, with Rico Ricciardelli. Mark met and married Patty, so our crazy weekends with Mark ended. He went on the Needham Fire department as did I a few years later, so more laughs and good times happened again at work. Mark also had 3 brothers who were on the department with us. A real family legacy of firefighters in the Longley family. I'm sure he is missed by all whoever met especially Patty and the rest of the Longley's God Bless and RIP your friend and fellow firefighters!
Stan Gibson
It's great to see so many warm comments about Mark. My first memory of Mark: The Mitchell School flag football team was playing the Stephen Palmer School. I was playing center for Mitchell, so I had to block Mark who was playing for Stephen Palmer. There was just one problem. Mark was twice my size and twice the size of anyone else on our team for that matter. When I met Mark at Pollard a year later, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Mark was indeed a gentle giant and a great guy. We remained friends through Pollard and NHS. Mark had an interest in Art and I enjoyed discussing Art with him. As I recall, he went to Mass College of Art for a year or more.
Joan Gilligan (Carroll)
Mark and I both attended Mass College of Art in Boston upon NHS graduation. Imagine big burly former football player Mark in the highly alternative and artistic setting that Mass Art was in the 70’s. Mark did not like it. Bumping into him in the cafeteria, he would shake his head in disbelief and say, this is NOT for me. I was sad to see him leave, such a wonderful guy and a link to home in an environment that I also found a bit overwhelming . He was probably most satisfied with his decision to leave and become a fire fighter, but I have a strong and fond memory of his kindness and camaraderie freshman year in college. My husband Bob who played football with Mark and I are both very sorry to hear that he has passed. We are thinking of him and send wishes of support to Patty and the rest of their family.
Joan OConnell
Kevin Doyle asked me to post this comment for him:
the story about mark longley: and it is true mark got a1950s woody station wagon i think from a florist on great plain ave and then mark got wet suits from the needham police. his father was a policeman. then he got 3 surfboards and we headed off to nauset beach cape cod. it was February, and we became the beach boys. all true i do not recall who was the third, but there was a hole in the floor of the back seat. did we lose a classmate around that time?
Hope you can post this for me many thanks
Mark Herman
Like everyone said, Mark had the nicest smile and temperament. I first met Mark at Pollard jr high. Then in high school we worked together at the Chevron station in Needham Heights. I moved to Duxbury in the later 70's and who moved in a couple of houses away but ,Mark, Pattie and family. It was a lot of fun watching the kids all grow up together. Mark certainly was a special person