Obituary for William V. Buccella
William (Bill) Victor Buccella was born in Seattle, WA to the late Fred and Adeline (Carriero) Buccella. Bill was raised in Buffalo, NY with sisters Kathy and Cindy and brother Jim. Bill was the beloved husband of 52 years of Mary (Molly) O’Shea, whom he met in December 1963 at Canisius College, and devoted father to Mark, Jennifer, and Peter.
Bill learned the value of work from an early age. He put himself through college with many jobs throughout the year. In the summer, he worked in the steel mill, caddied at the Buffalo Country Club, and picked strawberries and string beans with his grandmother, Carmella Carriero (Ferraro) on his Great Aunt Mary Vacco’s farm. During winter break, he delivered Christmas mail. These jobs paid for tuition and provided his “walking around money,” a term Bill adopted from his father-in-law and which he continued to use as a generous grandfather while slipping a few bills to his grandchildren.
Bill and Molly married on August 26, 1967, and then moved to Ithaca, where Bill received his J.D. from Cornell in 1968. Molly supported them by teaching fifth grade. During the Vietnam War, Bill served his country as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate Generals (JAG) Corps from 1968 to 1972 and was stationed in San Diego, CA, and Newport, RI. Following his discharge in 1972, Bill and Molly returned to Buffalo where Bill first worked as a clerk for federal judge John O. Henderson and then subsequently as an attorney for the law firm Diebold & Millonzi. Beginning in 1977, Bill became the General Counsel for Wheelabrator-Frye in New Hampshire and then in 1983, for The Henley Group in La Jolla California, where he brokered the largest domestic public offering to that point. In 1989, the Buccellas moved back to New England where Bill practiced corporate law at Goodwin Proctor. In 1996, he served as General Counsel for the Republican National Convention in San Diego. Then in 2003, he joined MacAndrews & Forbes, a New York private equity firm, which sent Bill and Molly to Greensboro, NC and then eventually to Brooklyn, NY. After retiring in 2012, Bill and Molly relocated to Chestnut Hill, MA and Palm Beach Gardens, FL.
In a lifetime together, Bill and Molly moved sixteen times, traveled around the world, and — most of all — enjoyed the love of their growing family and dear friends. Bill was the cherished and admired father of Mark Buccella and Erika Lee of Minneapolis, Jenny and Phil Evans of Newton, Peter and Abby Buccella of Newton, and devoted and adored grandfather to Ben and Billy Lee Buccella, Zachary and Amelia Evans, and Will and Jack Buccella.
Bill is survived by his wife, children, and grandchildren, brother Jim (Lara) Buccella of Ravena, NY, sister Kathy Morgan of Kenmore, NY, sister Cindy Buccella of Amherst, NY, sisters- and brothers-in-law Sheila and Greg Brodnick of Tonawanda, NY, Jim O’Shea and Mark Caldwell of New York City, Katie and Jim Friel of Cheektowaga, NY, and many nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, memorials in Bill’s name may be made to Brigham & Women’s Hospital Newborn Intensive Unit (The Stork Fund), which took such good care of Bill’s granddaughter Amelia: Development Office, 116 Huntington Ave., 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02116 or at give.brighamandwomens.org/stork-fund.
Bill learned the value of work from an early age. He put himself through college with many jobs throughout the year. In the summer, he worked in the steel mill, caddied at the Buffalo Country Club, and picked strawberries and string beans with his grandmother, Carmella Carriero (Ferraro) on his Great Aunt Mary Vacco’s farm. During winter break, he delivered Christmas mail. These jobs paid for tuition and provided his “walking around money,” a term Bill adopted from his father-in-law and which he continued to use as a generous grandfather while slipping a few bills to his grandchildren.
Bill and Molly married on August 26, 1967, and then moved to Ithaca, where Bill received his J.D. from Cornell in 1968. Molly supported them by teaching fifth grade. During the Vietnam War, Bill served his country as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate Generals (JAG) Corps from 1968 to 1972 and was stationed in San Diego, CA, and Newport, RI. Following his discharge in 1972, Bill and Molly returned to Buffalo where Bill first worked as a clerk for federal judge John O. Henderson and then subsequently as an attorney for the law firm Diebold & Millonzi. Beginning in 1977, Bill became the General Counsel for Wheelabrator-Frye in New Hampshire and then in 1983, for The Henley Group in La Jolla California, where he brokered the largest domestic public offering to that point. In 1989, the Buccellas moved back to New England where Bill practiced corporate law at Goodwin Proctor. In 1996, he served as General Counsel for the Republican National Convention in San Diego. Then in 2003, he joined MacAndrews & Forbes, a New York private equity firm, which sent Bill and Molly to Greensboro, NC and then eventually to Brooklyn, NY. After retiring in 2012, Bill and Molly relocated to Chestnut Hill, MA and Palm Beach Gardens, FL.
In a lifetime together, Bill and Molly moved sixteen times, traveled around the world, and — most of all — enjoyed the love of their growing family and dear friends. Bill was the cherished and admired father of Mark Buccella and Erika Lee of Minneapolis, Jenny and Phil Evans of Newton, Peter and Abby Buccella of Newton, and devoted and adored grandfather to Ben and Billy Lee Buccella, Zachary and Amelia Evans, and Will and Jack Buccella.
Bill is survived by his wife, children, and grandchildren, brother Jim (Lara) Buccella of Ravena, NY, sister Kathy Morgan of Kenmore, NY, sister Cindy Buccella of Amherst, NY, sisters- and brothers-in-law Sheila and Greg Brodnick of Tonawanda, NY, Jim O’Shea and Mark Caldwell of New York City, Katie and Jim Friel of Cheektowaga, NY, and many nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, memorials in Bill’s name may be made to Brigham & Women’s Hospital Newborn Intensive Unit (The Stork Fund), which took such good care of Bill’s granddaughter Amelia: Development Office, 116 Huntington Ave., 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02116 or at give.brighamandwomens.org/stork-fund.