Published in Asbury Park Press on June 29, 2013
James T. Buckley Jr., 93, of Tinton Falls, passed away Thursday, June 27, 2013, at home. He was born in Brooklyn, NY and lived in Fair Haven, NJ for 56 years before moving to Seabrook Village in Tinton Falls eight years ago. James was a graduate of Xavier Preparatory School in Manhattan, St. Peter’s College, Jersey City and Fordham Law, Manhattan. He was one of the first members and an active parishioner at the Church of the Nativity, Fair Haven. James was a member of the Town Council and the Mayor of Fair Haven. He served as president of the Rumson-Fair Haven Regional Board of Education. He was an auxiliary member of the Fair Haven Fire Department. James also served as president of the Resident Council at Seabrook Village, Tinton Falls. James retired as an Attorney and the Managing Partner of DeForest & Duer in New York City. He was one of New York’s most prominent estate planning attorneys.
He is predeceased by his parents, James T. and Celestine Roche Buckley and by his first wife, Margaret H. Buckley. James is survived by his children, Margaret B. Johnson and her husband Jack J. of Madison, Jay and his wife Peggy Dame of Eugene, OR, Christopher D. and his wife Jenny Wood of Fair Haven, David G. and his wife Dr. Laura Saavedra of Albuquerque, NM, and Barbara B. Milliken and her husband Mark of Madbury, NH.
James is also survived by his wife, Helen Reilly Buckley, and her children, Kevin, Sean and Daniel Reilly and Kathleen Masterson; by eight grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and five step-grandchildren.
A visitation will be held from 3 to 7 p.m. Sunday, July 30, 2013 at the John E. Day Funeral Home, 85 Riverside Ave., Bed Bank. A Mass of Christian Burial will take place at 11 a.m. Monday, July 1, 2013 at the Church of the Nativity in Fair Haven, followed by the interment at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Middletown. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Seabrook Scholars’ Fund at Seabrook Village, 3000 Essex Road, Tinton Falls, NJ 07753. Please visit James’s memorial website at www.johnedayfuneralhome.com.