Thomas Alan Buckley

Forever in our hearts, Thomas Alan Buckley, age 83, of Copley, Ohio, completed the last chapter of his story on September 29, 2026, after a life filled with service, love, and family.

Tom was born at home on March 16, 1943, in The Bronx, New York. He was the son of Thomas Aloysius Buckley and Eleanor Mildred Buckley (nee Sampson). Tom did not meet his father until age three, when his father returned home after serving in the U.S. Army during WWII.

Tom suffered from childhood asthma and spent two long hospital stays under an oxygen tent around ages four and six. During his second hospital stay, in around 1949-50, he was given a baseball signed by the New York Yankees. Tom's father worked as a counterman at a drug store located near CBS Radio Playhouse/CBS Studio 50, which was later famously renamed the Ed Sullivan Theater. One of his father's regular customers worked for CBS and had access to the Yankees. Upon hearing that Tom was in the hospital, the customer said he would ask the team to sign a ball for him.

In the summer of 1951, when he was eight years old, Tom traveled to the country for two weeks to escape the poor air quality in the city. His trip was sponsored by the New York Herald Tribune Fresh Air Fund, a program that matched New York City children with host families in the country. Tom was matched with The McIntosh family in Newport, New Hampshire. He was very surprised to learn upon arrival that his host family owned Green Acres Ice Cream, and their factory was located just across the street from their home! He thought he was the luckiest boy in the world.

After the initial two-week visit, Tom's chronic asthma seemed much improved. The next summer he returned for a month and showed an even greater improvement. For the next four years, he was a guest in the McIntosh home for the entire summer. His health grew better steadily and he was good company for their son Paul. In 1956, when he was thirteen, Tom's family moved to New Hampshire and made Newport their permanent home.

Mr. and Mrs. McIntosh leased a dairy bar in Ascutney, Vermont, and hired Tom's father, who had been a short-order cook, to run it for them. Tom helped his father at the dairy bar during the summers throughout his teenage years. His jobs included pumping gas and filling cars with oil. Sometimes, they would sleep in the booths if they were putting in long hours. During the winters, his father worked at a bread company running the bread wrapping machine, and Tom would sweep the floors for his father.

Tom attended Towle High School in Newport from 1956-60. During high school he played football, where he was varsity quarterback. Tom also participated in basketball, baseball, cross country, and track. He competed in the 1960 track and field state championship in the hurdles. He also performed in the senior play and read the class poem at the Class Day Service. Tom's class motto was, "The Truth is Mighty and It Prevails," which he was known for saying often.

Tom attended the University of New Hampshire from 1960-62. He had a record show for Radio Station WMDR, Durham, where he would spin the top 30 tunes of the week. He also belonged to the Sigma Beta fraternity and the Sphinx sophomore honorary society.

During this time, he also helped build the Arrowhead Skiway in Claremont, New Hampshire, and worked there as a ski patroller.

In 1961, his parents opened Tom's Restaurant, also in Claremont. Tom worked there off and on, washing dishes and peeling and cutting the potatoes for french fries.

In the summers during college, Tom participated in summer stock theatre as a member of the Center Spot Players of the Lake Sunapee Playhouse, where theatre professionals from New York City would train the next generation of performers.

While he was not a theatre major at UNH, he was cast in the lead role in Look Homeward Angel during the 1961-62 season. His performance earned a standing ovation.

In the summer of 1963, he had roles in Brigadoon and Carousel at the Lake Sunapee Playhouse. He suffered a painful experience during the rehearsal preceding opening night of Carousel. He ran a nail into his foot, nearly two inches, and was taken to the hospital for treatment. Returning to the theatre, he insisted on filling his role that evening—the highlight of which was an intricate dance with professional dancer Joyce Maret, who later appeared on Broadway. Tom performed gracefully and stoically, without the audience realizing his difficulty.

He showed such promise in acting that he was invited to study at The Actor's Studio in New York City. Unfortunately, he and his family were not in a financial position to be able to accept the offer.

At UNH, Tom also participated in ROTC. In the fall of 1963, he decided to enlist in the U.S. Air Force to serve his country in the Vietnam War. He completed basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. His flight to basic training was his first time on an airplane. He then completed technical training at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Tom was a morse code intercept operator and held a Top Secret clearance. He was stationed at RAF Chicksands in Bedfordshire, England from 1964-66. While he was set to stay in England until the end of his tour, he volunteered for a special assignment without a specified location. He was reassigned to a secret listening station in Peshawar, Pakistan (Peshawar Air Station) for 15 months.

In Pakistan, he was part of the 6937th Communications Group, a U.S. Air Force unit under the Air Force Security Service (later Electronic Security Command) that specialized in signals intelligence (SIGINT) and electronic surveillance.

Tom achieved the rank of Staff Sergeant, and was awarded the Air Force Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, and an Air Force Outstanding Unit Award. He was honorably discharged in September 1967.

Tom was thankful for the education his military service provided. He went on to earn a degree in Political Science/Pre-Law from Michigan State University, and he attended two years of law school at The University of Akron from 1970-72.

He met the love of his life, Carol Maglic, in 1970 and they married a year later in 1971. Tom used to take the bus to visit Carol at her parents’ home. He would still have to walk a long way from the bus stop to their home. In the winter, his mustache would be frozen and covered with snow by the time he arrived. Her father told her, "That's how you know he loves you."

Tom and Carol loved to dance and go to concerts. In 1972, they attended the legendary Rolling Stones concert at the Akron Rubber Bowl, where the opening act was Stevie Wonder. This concert is remembered as a monumental moment in Northeast Ohio rock history. That summer they also saw Chicago and Rod Stewart as part of that same concert series. Later on, whenever Tom would start the car for a new adventure with his family, he'd say, "Let's rock 'n' roll!"

During the early 1970s, Tom worked a variety of jobs. He was a law clerk for J. Paul Collins, an Akron, Ohio, criminal defense lawyer. He spent a summer building prefab panels for home builder Yankee Barn Homes in New Hampshire. He was the manager of the men's department at Halle Brothers Co. department store (Stow-Kent). In 1974, he was offered a job as a men's clothing buyer for Halle's, but he turned down a large budget and trip to Europe to take a job with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Tom worked for the VA from 1974-83 as a Veterans Representative on Campus at Kent State University, a Veterans Benefits Counselor at Kent State and at the VA Hospital in Brecksville, Ohio, and later as a Compliance Officer.

In July 1977, Tom and Carol welcomed a daughter, Jennifer Ann. They started building their home later that year. The home was still without windows when the blizzard of '78 hit. Tom had to shovel out his future dining room and living room, which were filled with around three feet of snow.

As a Compliance Officer for the VA from 1978-83, Tom traveled around Ohio during the week and returned for the weekend. When he returned, he always brought his daughter a Little Golden Book and Hostess Cupcakes or Suzy-Q's. She would hear him come in the door and she would run and jump, without looking, off the top of the stairs into his arms. He was always ready.

Following Tom's military service and work for the VA, he had a 22-year career (1983-2005) as an investigator for the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division. His career was spent documenting violations of the wage and hour laws and negotiating with employers to secure the payment of back wages and related fines. Even though he never finished law school, Tom was very proud of his career because he helped people recover the wages they had earned and oftentimes desperately needed to support their families. He also took pride in protecting young workers whose employers were violating child labor laws. He also enforced the Davis-Bacon Act relating to federal contracts. Tom was a key witness in the trial of Congressman James Traficant, who was convicted on ten felony counts in 2002. Over the years, Tom refused multiple promotions so his family could remain in their beloved home close to relatives. He retired in 2005 with 35 years of service.

Tom was devoted to family life. In the 1980s, they took yearly road trips to New Hampshire to visit his family. Every Thanksgiving, they would watch the Macy's parade together. He took his daughter sledding, labeled school supplies, helped with homework, chauffeured, volunteered, and attended every single concert, track meet, marching band show, and theatre production. He encouraged and supported her in every way.

Tom was a member of Copley Kiwanis for many years, where he served as the advisor to the Copley High School Key Club service organization. He also served as president of the Copley High School Music Boosters and earned the name "Concession Stand Man" for taking every volunteer shift that went unfilled. He chaperoned band camp and led the effort to buy new band uniforms in the early 1990s.

Tom was a proud College of Wooster parent, enjoying every marching band show and band concert while his daughter attended there. He then proudly drove her back and forth to law school at the University of Michigan in his "Big Blue" Dodge Durango. He loved attending the Michigan vs Michigan State football game with her in October 2000, even though his alma mater lost 14-0.

He took his family on a Maine vacation in the summer of 2000. They visited Acadia National Park, Boothbay Harbor, Bar Harbor, and the surrounding areas.

In 2006, his daughter married and soon moved to Oakwood, Ohio, near Dayton. In his retirement, he helped his daughter and son-in-law restore their 1928 home, serving as their expert painter.

In 2014, Tom's grandson, Alexander Thomas (his namesake), was born. From then on, Alex was his world. Tom and Carol drove to Dayton monthly to be present in Alex's life and support their daughter's family. Tom always brought his "snack bags" when he visited. He took Alex on long stroller walks throughout the city, swam with him at the pool, attended his school events, and took him to get lots of ice cream. Tom also loved shopping with Alex at the local grocery store, each with their own cart.

Tom always wanted to take his daughter to Disney World and stay at the Polynesian resort. He talked about it often while she was growing up. In 2019, his dream finally came true. During their Disney trip, he was selected as "That Guy" at the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor attraction. They made another trip to Disney in 2023 when Alex was nine years old. These were some of Tom's favorite memories.

During Covid, his daughter's family frequently visited, and they made special memories exploring their property, making fires, telling ghost stories, toasting s'mores, listening for the "ghost train" at Halloween, having water balloon battles, eating outside, watching movies, and playing games.

As his grandson grew up, Tom's daughter started a tradition of family Halloween costumes. Tom willingly dressed up as the sun for a garden gnome theme, a goofy monster, Swedish Chef, Dumbledore, and Zeus!

Tom also supported his family during their participation in Destination Imagination, a global creative problem-solving competition. Tom transported props, carried scenery, and drove them to the global competition in Kansas City, Missouri, in 2024 and 2025. DI was previously called Odyssey of the Mind. Tom coached his daughter's team during her first year in OM in elementary school, and now she and her husband coach their son's team.

Tom was delighted to see his grandson develop a love of musical theatre and follow in his Papa's footsteps. He loved to watch Alex perform and will surely be watching from an empty seat at his future shows. Alex sang to him often, which brought him great joy and comfort during his illness.

As a Cleveland sports fan, Tom often used the phrase, "Hope springs eternal." He enjoyed celebrating with his family when the Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA Finals in 2016. He would have loved watching the Guardians in the MLB playoffs this year.

Tom was the most honest person, a man of great integrity, and he was always there, supporting his family. He gave and sacrificed even when he had little. His family will miss him every day, and his memory will continue to guide them and shape their lives. His experiences in life taught him that you can overcome anything. He always told his family, "Everything will be ok."

Tom is survived by his beloved wife of nearly 55 years, Carol (nee Maglic); daughter Jennifer Deibel (Jason) of Oakwood; cherished grandson Alexander; niece Terri Pfister (Charles) of Medina; nephew Tim Barndt (Diane) of Concord, North Carolina; great-nephews Stephen Pfister (Niki) and Trenton Pfister; great-nieces Lauren Barndt and Rachel White (Garrison); great-great-nephew Everette; brother Richard Buckley and family of California; sister Lois Lapan and family of New Hampshire; dear cousins and friends.

A private family gathering and burial with military honors will be held. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to The Fresh Air Fund in his memory at www.freshair.org. Memories and condolences may be shared at www.waitefuneralhome.com.