SCARBOROUGH - Kristin L. Buckwalter, age 78, passed away on February 15, 2020 at the Holbrook Health Center at the Piper Shores Retirement Community. She was born in Philadelphia, PA on November 27, 1941, the daughter of Dr. James K. and Mrs. Alberta Leech.
Kris attended Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA, where she met her husband, Robert. They married and had three daughters. Kris was an incredible mother and wife – loving, patient, wise, hardworking, funny, and always, always supportive.
Kris and Bob spent most of their married life in the Berkshires of Massachusetts. Kris was employed publishing an art history bibliography for the J. Paul Getty Trust, where she was hired as a secretary and moved all the way up to become the Managing Editor.
She adored her grandchildren and was a prominent figure and role model for each of their lives. She lit up every family gathering with her generous spirit and quick wit, and when times were tough, her unconditional love saw everyone through. She found enormous pleasure in gardening, singing, visiting museums, and attending plays and concerts. She was an avid reader and often mailed interesting newspaper clippings to her loved ones. Kris was always quick to notice and appreciate natural beauty — the first to point out a beautiful bird or a striking sunset.
For more than 25 years, Bob and Kris enjoyed family vacations on the Maine coast, which influenced their decision to retire to Piper Shores in 2010. They celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary there shortly before Kris’s passing.
She is survived by her beloved husband– Robert; her daughters- Deborah Booth and her husband Richard from Hudson, MA, Elizabeth Buckwalter and her husband Andrew Greenberg from Fayetteville, NY, and Sarah Madden and her husband William from Huntington, MA; six grandchildren– Rachel (Booth) Webb and her husband Jim, Hannah Greenberg, Luke Madden, Emily Booth, Leah Greenberg, and Patric Madden; and one great grandson– Oliver Webb. She also leaves a brother--Curtis Leech and his wife Paula of Anderson, IN; and an aunt– Jean Johnson of Colonial Heights, VA.
Kris’s family is grateful to the staff of The Wayland and The Holbrook Health Center of Piper Shores for their compassionate care and support of Kris over the past year.
There will be a celebration of Kris’s life in the Great Room at Piper Shores at a later date.
Online condolence messages can be submitted at the Chad E. Poitras Cremation and Funeral Service website, www.mainefuneral.com
Arrangements have been entrusted to Chad E. Poitras Cremation and Funeral Service, Buxton, www.mainefuneral.com