Obituary of Adelle D Buck

 Lois Adelle Dean Buck, a lifelong resident of Montclair, NJ. died on Saturday, October 7, 2023 at the age of 96.

Adelle was born at Mountainside Hospital on July 2, 1927 to George Edgar and Lois Farmer Dean. She grew up with her brother, Robert Dean, in a house built by her father on Draper Terrace. This was next door to her grandparents, whose house is now the Immaculate Conception field house. What is now the playing field was her grandparents’ apple orchard. She had many stories of adventures in those houses, the orchard and the neighborhood. Later, the family moved to Clarewill Avenue in Upper Montclair.

After graduating from Montclair High School in 1945, Adelle received her B.A. in 1949 from Wellesley College in Wellesley, MA where she majored in zoology and remained active through the alumnae association. She made many lifelong friends at Wellesley and met her late husband and love of her life, Thomas F. Buck, at a college dance. Mr. Buck, who died in 2007, was a 1948 graduate of MIT. Adelle was proud of her Wellesley lineage: grandmother, class of 1893; mother,1924, and daughters, Carolyn Buck,1978 and Nancy Buck McCormick,1980.

Central Presbyterian Church was an integral part of Adelle’s life, as she had grown up in the church, married, and brought up her children there. She served as an elder and worked on many committees from policy, ministry and Christian education to the book and rummage sales, and maintained the church gardens. Adelle particularly enjoyed the music programs and loved listening to classical hymns and traditional pieces played on the church pipe organ.

A love of antiques and estate sales led Adelle to work at a Montclair consignment shop which she eventually bought and developed into a go-to place for antiques and bargains. She happily and successfully ran it along with estate sales for many years. Her many loyal customers were sad when she retired and closed the shop at age 70.

Adelle loved to garden and eagerly shared her ideas and knowledge with others. She was a hands-on, get-muddy gardener and preferred interesting foliage and specimen shrubs and perennials to traditional flowers. Her gardens always included surprises and plenty of food for the insects. When a tall tree died, she didn’t have it removed - she had it topped off and let ivy cover it so it became home to numerous birds and squirrels. We called it the totem pole.

She was a gracious, proper and quiet, people-person. Always welcoming new neighbors, visitors to church, new customers at the shop and people she interacted with in everyday life. A lot of her and Tom’s social life revolved around friends from church and the neighborhood and their parties and get-togethers were numerous and boisterous.

Adelle is survived by her three children: G. Dean Buck (Lori), Carolyn W. Buck (Michael Goulder), and Nancy Buck McCormick; and six grandchildren: Jonathan Buck, Wesley Buck, Thomas Goulder, Katherine Goulder, Andrew McCormick and Kevin McCormick, and one great grandchild: Ava Schneider.

 A memorial service will be held on Saturday, November 4, 2023 at 1 pm at Central Presbyterian Church in Montclair. New Jersey. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be sent to Central Presbyterian Church, Garden Fund, 46 Park Street, Montclair, New Jersey, 07042.