Martin "Butch" Raffone, 81, passed on March 16, 2024.

Martin "Butch" Raffone, 81, of Bluffton, SC, previously of East Haven, passed away unexpectedly on March 16, 2024. He is survived by his wife of nearly 60 years, Diane Lewis Raffone of Trumbull, his son Martin Raffone Jr. and his husband Bill McIntosh of NYC, his sister Barbara Parente of Cheshire, his brother-in-law Gerald Lewis and his wife June of West Haven, and his sister-in-law Paula Lewis of West Haven. Uncle Butchie is also survived by several adoring nieces and nephews: Amy Rosen of Branford, Vincent Parente of Southington, Eric (Lynn) Parente of Trumbull, Jennifer (Bob) Hawkins of West Haven, Gerald Lewis Jr. (Gaia) of Old Lyme, Heather (Frank Formichella) Lewis of Bridgeport, and Robert (Heather) Lewis of Milford. He was predeceased by his parents, Josephine Johnson and Mario Raffone and brothers-in-law Bobby Lewis and Vincent Parente.

Butch was raised in Hamden, graduated from Hamden High School, and attended New Haven College. He proudly served his country as member of the U.S. Army Reserve. Butch met his wife Diane Lewis of West Haven and they made their home in Hamden until 1996, when they moved to Whaler’s Point in East Haven, which they enjoyed greatly with their close-knit group of neighbors who became part of their family.

He spent his professional career working for SNET (AT&T) in New Haven as an engineer and was a project manager for many construction projects. He was a member of the New Haven Elks Lodge and was honored to be recognized as their Italian of the Year for the 2009-2010 term.

In 2015, Butch and Diane moved to Bluffton, SC where they lived until his passing. No matter where they lived, he took great pride in having his and Diane’s home in pristine condition, and was passionate about landscaping their beautiful yard, and insisted on mowing their lawn himself.

Butch went on many adventures with Diane. From spending time skiing and snowmobiling while at their home in Jamaica, VT to going to Europe, to driving cross country a few times visiting family, friends, national parks, and casinos along the way. One of Butch’s greatest adventures was when he and a group of friends travelled to Wyoming to go to a dude ranch where they went horseback riding and on a cattle drive. He enjoyed going to New York City to see Broadway shows and saw his favorite musical, Phantom of the Opera many times.

More than anything, Butch loved his family and family get-togethers, which were always fun and filled with love and laughter. Of course, no celebration was complete without macaroni and meatballs!

Butch’s greatest love besides his family, was helping family members and friends with any work they needed done. He had a quiet presence and was kind, generous, thoughtful with great sense of humor. He was a devoted son, brother, husband, father, uncle and friend who will be deeply missed.

The family of Martin "Butch" Raffone would like to express heartfelt thanks to everyone who supported him and prayed for him.

Butch’s life will be celebrated at a Mass of Christian Burial on September 28, at 10 a.m. at St. Mary Church, 731 Main Street, Branford. In lieu of flowers, donations in Butch’s memory may be made to: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN, 38105.