JOHN DRAPER BUCKLEY's Obituary
John D. Buckley, one of four original founders of Florida-based engineering company Post, Buckley, Schuh & Jernigan, Inc., better known as PBS&J, died at South Miami Hospital in Coral Gables, Florida, on March 21.
Until his death, Mr. Buckley served on the board of directors for The Atkins Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) foundation that primarily supports community initiatives focused on education and supports the company’s minority scholarship program, which provides financial aid to minority students who are majoring in engineering programs at universities across the United States.
When he joined Post, Buckley, Mooney & Schuh in 1961, Mr. Buckley assumed responsibility for the sanitary engineering work of the firm. A highly regarded engineer in Florida, Buckley was the first to design a reverse osmosis plant in in the state.
By the early 1970s, when the company was renamed to Post, Buckley, Schuh & Jernigan, it had established a strong client base in South Florida. In the years that followed, the company continued to grow, taking on new clients and new projects and expanding across the United States. By the time, Mr. Buckley retired in 1986, the company had grown to 31 offices and more than 1,000 employees with annual revenues of nearly $75 million. A/E consultancy Atkins acquired The PBSJ Corporation in 2010.
Even in retirement, he continued to be recognized by his peers and received an award from the Florida Engineering Society in 1988 for Outstanding Service to the Profession. In 1996 the University of Maine, his alma mater, awarded Mr. Buckley the Distinguished Engineering Award.
He was also honored by the Florida Senior Golf Association in 1990 for his outstanding efforts as president. He served as president of the Riviera Country Club.
His wife of 55 years, Regina, died in 2002, after years of his devoted care. He was also predeceased by his brother, Donald, who passed in 2010. He is survived by his niece Michele Buckley-Linsky and son Benjamin of Rockport, Mass.; nephew Peter Buckley, his wife Joni, and daughter Elizabeth of Rockport, Mass.; sister-in-law Barbara Buckley of Rockport, Mass.; Regina's nieces and nephews; and his companion Naomi McKinney.
Mr. Buckley was a native of Boston, Massachusetts, grew up in Rockport, and graduated from Gloucester High School in 1941. Upon graduation, he enrolled in the University of Maine, but left in 1942 to serve in the U. S. military World War II as a 1st. Lt. C. E. 10th Armed Division in WWII in Europe.
After his military service, he returned to the university to complete his studies, and received his bachelor's degree in civil engineering. He went on to earn a master's degree in sanitary engineering from Harvard University in 1950 before joining Post, Buckley, Mooney & Schuh 10 years later.
Mass of the Resurrection will be held 10 am Monday, April 6th at the Church of the Little Flower in Coral Gables. Burial will be private.
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