Joan E. Buckley

Sunrise: October 6, 1942

Sunset: July 30, 2023

On July 30, 2023, Joan E. Buckley, 80, of Mountainside, New Jersey, went home to be with the Lord. She passed peacefully and was surrounded by family at the time she was called home.

Joan was the loving wife of James D. Buckley, Sr. for 60 years. The couple had just renewed their wedding vows one month before Joan passed. Jim always introduced her and referred to her as his "bride." She was also the proud biological mother of four children. However, many others considered Joan their surrogate mother. Her home was always open. Once you were "adopted" by Joan, you remained family, no matter the distance or time between visits. To this day, she is referred to as "Mom" by many. She always made sure that every child who crossed her threshold was safe, was fed, and felt loved. As a testament to this fact, she and her husband took in several teenagers over the years.

Joan's caring and compassion for others carried over to her professional occupation. She spent more than a quarter century driving buses for severely handicapped children as an employee of the State of New Jersey, Union County Day Training Center. When not driving the children, she spent time visiting the children in their classrooms and volunteering to assist with care during class trips. Her infectious smile and hearty laugh made everyone feel at ease, which developed into special bonds with many of those children. As head driver, she was also assigned the task of teaching the Defensive Driving Course for other Day Training Center state employees throughout New Jersey.

In her free time, Joan loved socializing with friends and with her friends' families. She was blessed with many friends, including life-long friends, going back to her school days, many of whom were "Aunts" and "Uncles" to her children. She also enjoyed doing arts and crafts, especially greeting card making. She was a Stampin' Up distributor, and taught card-making classes for local senior citizen centers and for community programs. In addition, she made beautiful hand-made ribbon roses, and used them in her own floral designs, including her daughter's wedding bouquet. She was very creative. She was famously known for her support for family and friends, no matter the occasion. If something going on in the life of a friend or family member was important to them, then it was important to Joan and her husband. Joan and Jim would make sure they were there. If someone needed something, she was always the first to offer help, including the occasions when she reached into her own pocket to make sure others had food, shelter, and safety.

Perhaps Joan's greatest joy was staying involved in the lives of her children and grandchildren. She was always the first to help and support her children in raising her grandchildren. As with everything else she did in life, Joan was always there to lend a hand. The value of this help simply cannot be expressed in words by her family. She will be greatly missed by all who have had the pleasure of knowing her.

Joan is survived by her husband of 60 years, James D. Buckley, Sr., three of their children, Anne M. Buckley-Johnson and her husband, Chris Johnson, of Bridgewater, NJ, John W. Buckley and his wife, Maria, of Palm Harbor, FL, and Maria B. Leamy and her husband, Bill, of Clearwater, FL, five grandchildren, Jonathan Buckley, Christian Johnson, Patrick Leamy, Diana Johnson and Jayden Buckley, four daughters by choice, Donna Lobbato, Debbie Maerz, Lisa Cruser, and Laura Carrube, her brother, Walter Blusewicz and his wife, Jeannie, her brother-in-law, Benjamin C. Buckley and his wife, Carol, her sister-in-law, MaryAnn Buckley, nieces and nephews including Sue Ann, Steven, Robert, Karen, Lori, Jamie, George, and Ken, numerous great nieces and nephews, cousins, and predeceased by her son, James D. Buckley, Jr., her brother-in-law, Robert Buckley, and her nephew, Glen Bachelder. She is forever loved.