Joyce F. (Murphy) Mercer, 86, of Ashland, died Wednesday, June 20, 2007, in Hopedale, after a period of declining health. She was the wife of Charles Mercer, who died in 1998, for 56 years. Born in Framingham, she was the daughter of the late Michael and Prudence (Lyons) Murphy, and had lived in Ashland since 1954. She was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints in Marlborough. She leaves two daughters, Elizabeth Birmingham and her husband, Raymond, of Milford, and Leslie Cameron and her husband, Barry, of Milford, N.H.; one son, David Mercer and his wife, Robyn, of Pleasant Grove, Utah; nine grandchildren; and 16 great-grandchildren. A funeral service will take place Tuesday, July 24, at 11 a.m., in the Chapel of the Matarese Funeral Home, 325 Main St., Ashland, with burial to follow in Wildwood Cemetery, in Ashland. A time of visitation will take place Tuesday, beginning at 10 a.m., until the time of the service.