Jacksonville- Luisa Rene Long, 73, passed away Tuesday September 18, 2018 at Carolina Healthcare in Charlotte surrounded by her husband and her sons.  She was born August 19, 1945 in Lima, Peru.

A Funeral Mass will be held Saturday October 6, 2018 at 10:00 AM at Infant of Prague Catholic Church in Jacksonville.

Luisa graduated from Balboa High School in the Panama Canal Zone, Republic of Panama in 1964.  She was a computer pioneer of sorts in the 1960s when she worked as a Key Punch Operator in Los Angeles, California.  She moved back to Panama after having her first son and started working for her father's civil engineering firm.  In 1975, she took a position at the American Embassy in Panama City where she met and fell in love with her husband.  They were married for 41 years while traveling the world with the Marine Corps.  They settled in Jacksonville in 1990 where she established and operated her own daycare for 15 years, lovingly caring for countless children and their families.  Having been born in South America and having lived in both Central and North America, Luisa considered herself a "True American".

She is survived by mother, Luisa Assereto of Panama City, Panama; husband, Stephen Long of Jacksonville; sons, Rod Long (Melissa) of Katy, TX, Luis Long (Maria) of Williamsburg, VA, and John Paul Long of Jacksonville; grandchildren, Catherine, Austin, Samuel, and Sofia Long; and sisters, Ileana Arango and Rosana Arango of Panama City, Panama and Lissette Duharte of Tamarar, FL.

She was preceded in death by her father, Alfonso Ugarte and a son Michael Thomas Long.