[from The Oregonian, Sunday 1/27/08] James Meehan Bucciarelli died January 4, 2008, at West Hills Health and Rehab in Portland. Jim was born on October 31, 1939, to Louis and Jeane Meehan Bucciarelli. He married Jean Grace Manly in 1965; they divorced in 1979 and remained friends. She survives him, as do daughters Jessica Manly Bucciarelli (Katherine Jaramillo) and Gracie Bucciarelli (Kristen Dilley); brothers Msgr. Robert Bucciarelli and Louis Bucciarelli (Ann); sisters Joan Yim and Diane Cerreto (Joe); an aunt; many nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.
Jim Bucciarelli grew up in New Canaan, Conn., and graduated from Harvard and Wesleyan universities. For seven years, he taught high school history in Greenwich, Conn. In 1970, the family moved from Ridgefield, Conn., to Northeast Portland so Jim could join the staff of the new Adams High School as a Team Leader. Jim was a talented and memorable teacher and was also involved with local and national economic and social justice initiatives, such as the Model Cities program.
Jim lived with bipolar disorder. In 1981, brainstem encephalitis took his ability to speak clearly, control his movements, walk or work. For more than 20 years, Jim lived independently at the Oak Street Apartments in downtown Portland. He enjoyed Saturday evening mass at Downtown Chapel, an occasional gin and tonic at Kells, typing and reading letters, and outings with his dear friend, Jimmy Stratton. For many years, he also made annual winter visits to his mother in Honolulu.
In July 2005, Jim moved to the West Hills Center which offered the skilled nursing care his declining health required. With care and affection, Jim and the staff went through a lot together. The past two and a half years provided many opportunities for love to deepen between Jim and his family. Jean, Gracie and Jessica are grateful to have grown so much closer to him during this time.
Jim Bucciarelli appreciated beauty in nature and the arts. His strong intellect kept him interested in the world and all its workings. His faith guided him from childhood through the final weeks of his life. Jim lived his life with a sense of humor and humility that touched many.
Jim's funeral mass has been held at the Downtown Chapel. A graveside service will take place at the family plot in Connecticut. Memorial contributions may be made to the Downtown Chapel, All Classical 89.9, Providence Hospice, or the palliative care harpists, Sacred Flight.
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This is the unedited obituary I wrote for the Ridgefield Press. Jim and I lived in Ridgefield the first five years of our marriage and both our daughters were born in nearby Danbury and had their first home in the Nash Apartments on Ridgefield's Main Street. Jean
James Meehan Bucciarelli, a former resident of Ridgefield, died January 4 in Portland, Oregon. Jim, son of Louis L. and Jeane Meehan Bucciarelli, was born October 31, 1939 in Norwalk CT. He spent his childhood and adolescent years in New Canaan. Following graduation from Harvard, Jim earned a Masters of Art in Teaching degree from Wesleyan University. Jim taught in the Social Studies department at Greenwich H.S. from 1963 until 1970.
While at Wesleyan, Jim met Jean Grace Manly. Upon graduation from Wesleyan, Jean moved to the Nash Apartments and taught Social Studies at Ridgefield H.S. 1964-1966. In August 1965, Jim and Jean were married in Colorado Springs, Colorado. They returned to live in the Nash Apartments. Jim Scarboro, Ridgefield Press reporter and his wife, Ann, also lived in the Nash Apartments. Jean knew the Scarboros from undergraduate studies at Colorado College and the Bucciarellis and Scarboros established an enduring friendship.
Jim and Jean welcomed the births of Jessica Manly in July 1967 and Susan Grace in February 1970. In the summer of 1970 the family moved to Portland, Oregon, where Jim accepted a Team Leader position in a new high school. Jim was a talented and memorable teacher, who also kept involved in local and national economic and social justice issues. In 1978 Jim and Jean divorced; they remained friends.
Jim lived with bipolar disorder. In 1981 brain stem encephalitis robbed Jim of his ability to speak clearly, walk, or work. Still, Jim managed to live quite independently in downtown Portland for 24 years. He enjoyed zipping along downtown streets in his wheelchair to attend Saturday evening Mass at the Downtown Chapel, or to imbibe an occasional gin and tonic at an Irish pub. For about a dozen years, the highlight of his year was getting away from rainy winter Portland to spend a few weeks with his Mother in Honolulu.
In July 2005, Jim’s declining physical health necessitated a move to a Portland skilled nursing facility. During the next 2 ½ years, through frequent visits, cards and letters, and phone calls, love deepened between Jim and his daughters Jessica and Gracie, former wife Jean, his brothers and sisters and close friends. He very much enjoyed seeing Jim and Ann Scarboro when they visited Portland last summer. Jim continued to appreciate beauty in the arts and nature and to be interested in world events. He listened to classical music and to books on CD. His strong faith endured and continued to guide him through the final weeks of his life. Jim Bucciarelli lived his life with a sense of humor and humility that touched many people.
Jim is survived by his daughters and their partners, Jessica (Katherine Jaramillo), Portland, and Gracie (Kristen Dilley), Berkeley CA; brothers, Monsignor Robert Bucciarelli, Dublin, Ireland and Dr. Louis Bucciarelli (Ann), Belmont, Mass; sisters, Joan Bucciarelli Yim, Kirkland, WA and Diane Bucciarelli Cerreto (Joseph), Mansfield Center, CT; and his former wife, Jean of Portland. A funeral Mass was held at Portland’s St. Vincent DePaul Downtown Chapel. Monsignor Robert Bucciarelli will officiate at a funeral Mass to be held 11:30 a.m. April 19 at St. Aloysius in New Canaan. Following a reception, interment of cremains will be held at St. John’s Cemetery in Springdale.
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