Donald L. Buckley, Jr., age 84, of Upper Arlington, Ohio passed away on Monday, June 28 at home surrounded by his family. The son of Donald and Helen (Stephenson) Buckley, he was born on October 11, 1936, in Columbus, Ohio and was raised in Jackson, Ohio. On June 5, 1965, Don married Julianne (Harris) Buckley in Lancaster, Ohio and together they shared 56 years.
He is survived by his wife, Julianne; son Jeffrey (Mary), of Buffalo, NY; daughter, Beth (Scott), of Canton, GA; sister, Patricia (Bob), of Circleville, Ohio; seven grandchildren, Abigail, Kate, Madelyn and Declan of Buffalo, NY and Grace, Matthew and Claire of Canton, GA; nephews, Jeffrey (Chris), of Grove City, Ohio and Craig (Althea), of Coldwater, MI; nieces, Debbie (Jamie), of Shelby Township, MI and Trishia (Scott), of Circleville, Ohio. He is preceded in death by his parents, Donald and Helen; infant brother, John; sister, Peggy; and brother-in-law, Bob Steele.
After completing most of his college education at The Ohio State University, he enlisted in the United States Air Force. While in the service, Don completed his education and graduated from the University of Nebraska-Omaha. He is also a graduate of the University of Wisconsin’s Graduate School of Banking. Don proudly served in the United States Air Force for four years. He was stationed at the Strategic Air Command Headquarters, where he served as a Photo Intelligence Interpreter Specialist. He was among the first military personnel to identify Soviet missiles that led to the Cuban Missile Crisis. Upon his discharge from the military, Don returned to Columbus, where he worked as a Trade Association Executive until his retirement. Don was a long-time member of the Upper Arlington Lutheran Church and served in various positions, especially an usher team leader and a member of a SALT group. He was also a member of the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity. He was an avid Ohio State Buckeyes fan and had season football tickets for 59 years. Don also had basketball season tickets. Don will be greatly missed by many friends.
A memorial service will take place at 2 p.m. on Friday, July 23 at Upper Arlington Lutheran Church, 2300 Lytham Rd., Columbus, Ohio. A reception will follow the service. In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial contribution to Central Ohio Diabetes Association, at CODA/Life Care Alliance, 1699 West Mound St., Columbus, OH 43223; or Heartland Hospice, 6500 Busch Boulevard, Suite 210, Columbus, OH 43229. The family would like to thank all of the hospice nurses that took such good care of Don, especially his regular nurse, Meghan. To leave an online condolence, please visit www.OhioCremation.org