Joseph ‘Joe’ Renfro, 79, of Rockingham

Joseph “Joe” Renfro, 79 of Rockingham, passed away on July 31, 2023 at Albany Medical Center following a long battle with many illnesses.

Joe was born on May 26, 1944 in Portland, Ore. He was the first son of Julian M. and Mary (Manasco) Renfro. Joe spent his childhoodin the tiny town of Wheeler, Ore., a town he loved. He recounted his adventurous and mischievous times as a boy there with fondness.

When Joe was a teenager, his father built a homemade trailer, packed up their belongings, hitched it to their ’36 Ford and drove across the country to settle in Connecticut. Joe attended trade school and became a long-distance truck driver. He spent many years driving throughout the country and was especially partial to Interstate 40.

Eventually settling in Chester, Joe started R&R Trucking, running several trucks as owner/operator, his favorite being “long nosed Peterbilts with CAT engines.”A proud member of truckers “Million Mile Club,” Joe easily exceeded several million miles on the road. Driving and working on his Peterbilts is where he was most comfortable.

Joe was a tough, strong and hard-working man. Intelligent and mechanically gifted, Joe could problem-solve and repair most anything. He loved conversation, always punctuated with his dry humor. He loved the road, truck stops, his trucking buddies and his cats, Edie, Prue and Tex. Tex adopted Joe when he jumped into his cab at a truck stop in Texas, becoming a traveling companion on many trips.

Most notable was that Joe had a big heart. He loved his family and was very close with his son Scott. He wasn’t shy bragging about Scott and was proud of his athletic accomplishments and career as a PE teacher.

Joe was predeceased by Elinor Jones, his wife of many years. He is survived by his son Scott Renfro (Reiko) of Andover, a sister Ruth O’Hara of Laconia, N.H., and a brother, Bruce Renfro (Bonnie) of Hartland, Vt.