Joseph D. Buckley

Joseph D. Buckley was born June 16, 1932 and raised in Randolph. He graduated from Stetson High School in Randolph, from Thayer Academy in 1951 and Harvard College in 1955. At Harvard, he was an economics major as well as a member of the school’s NROTC Unit. Commissioned an Ensign upon graduation, he was assigned to the U.S.S. Higbee (DDR-806), a radar picket destroyer out of Long Beach, CA and served as communications officer. Later he qualified as an air controller while the Higbee was attached to Carrier Task Force 77 in the Western Pacific. Upon release from active duty in 1957, with the rank of Lieutenant (jg), he joined the Gulf Oil Corporation as a sales representative in various districts around New England. Four years later he entered Boston’s financial industry and worked for Norfolk Trust Company and BayBank. During this time, he was asked to help found the Montrose School for Girls in Brookline. He served on the Board of Directors of the school for the next ten years. He retired from BayBank in 1991 after a successful and rewarding commercial banking career. He has been of resident of Hingham since 1964. In retirement, he fulfilled a lifelong ambition by writing Wings Over Cape Cod, the history of the Chatham Naval Air Station where his father was stationed in 1918 and 1919. In addition to writing about the Naval Air Station, he also gave slide shows and lecture presentations on a regular basis throughout New England. He was featured in the Boston Globe, the Patriot Ledger, and several local radio stations including WBZ and WJDA. A tireless enthusiast, he sold his book in over 40 bookstores as well as on the internet, where he received orders and inquiries from all over the country. In 2003, for his work on Wings Over Cape Cod, he received the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Media Award. Mr. Buckley is survived by his devoted wife Eileen, of 45 years and his six children and nine loving grandchildren. His children are Joseph D. Buckley, Jr. of Norfolk, William H. Buckley of Hingham, Sarah A. Buckley of Katonah, NY, John F. Buckley of Hingham, Mary E. Fallon of Hanover, NH, and Kathleen H. Cable of Bristol, England. He died at home on August 15th surrounded by his loving family. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend the funeral from the Pyne Keohane Funeral Home, 21 Emerald St. (off Central St.), HINGHAM Friday at 9 AM. Funeral Mass in Church of the Resurrection, Hingham at 10 AM. Visiting hours Thursday 4-8 PM. Burial in MA National Cemetery, Bourne Friday at 12:45 PM. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Mr. Buckley may be made to the Arnold Hall Conference Center, Randall St., Pembroke, MA 02358