Margaret ‘Peggy’ Buckley

Social worker

Margaret “Peggy” Buckley of Jamaica Plain died peacefully in her home on April 25. The cause was lung cancer. She was 67 years old.

She grew up in the Bronx, N.Y., the daughter of the late John and Mary (Kennedy) Buckley. She was a community resource specialist at the Visiting Nurse Association of Boston & Affiliates. She dedicated her career to community-based social work, and previously worked as a social worker at the Bowdoin Street Health Center in Dorchester, one of Boston’s highest-need neighborhoods, for 23 years.

In addition to her clinical work, she became involved in broader public health campaigns in the Bowdoin Street community related to lead poisoning, AIDS, violence prevention and other issues. She applied for and received a Community Oriented Primary Care Fellowship, which allowed her to attend Boston University School of Public Health, where she received her M.P.H. in 1994.

Her most significant public health project, and the impetus for her fellowship, was the Boston Lead Action Collaborative, an effort focused on reducing incidents of childhood lead poisoning in Boston’s highest-risk neighborhoods. In 2001, she received the Bernice K. Snyder Award for Clinical Excellence from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center’s Department of Social Work.

She is survived by her sister, Marlene Buckley, and her son, Matthew Klein.

Funeral arrangements were through Davis Funeral Home. A memorial Mass was held April 29 at Saint Mary of the Angels Church, Roxbury. Donations can be made in her memory to Greater Boston Legal Services, 97 Friend St., Boston, MA 02114 or The Makula Fund for Children, 20 Wachusett St., Jamaica Plain, MA 02130-4138.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *