In Loving Memory of
Jean Grace Bucciarelli
of Milwaukie, Oregon
04/30/1939 – 05/14/2026
Jean Grace Manly was born April 30, 1939, in the dry heat of Arizona’s Sonoran Desert. She died 87 years and two weeks later on the kind of mild day that she loved in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, where she had made her home since 1970.
Jean and her sisters were born in Yuma, on the US-Mexico border, but the family moved frequently due to her father’s work as a civil engineer with the Bureau of Reclamation. She called herself a “dam brat” and would tell you that one of her most formative experiences involved attending eight elementary schools and five high schools. She spoke with special fondness of her several years in the one-room elementary school in Canyon Ferry, Montana, and of the BB gun she had in those days.
One of the five high schools was the International School in New Delhi. Her time as a teenager in India left such a deep impression that she returned in her 20s. She graduated from Massena High School, in upstate New York, on the US-Canada border, where she was named class athlete and runner-up class clown.
She treasured the people and places she got to know at Colorado College, where she majored in philosophy with a minor in history. After CC graduation, she taught at the International School in New Delhi.
She went on to earn her Master’s in teaching at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, where she met James Bucciarelli. She once described Jim as, “a person with an exotic name, a unique personality, a terrific intellect and a background excitingly different from mine.” They married in 1965 and she took Bucciarelli as her last name. They settled first in Fairfield County, Connecticut, where Jim had grown up and still had family.
In 1970, Jean and Jim moved with children – infant Gracie and toddler Jessica – to Portland, Oregon, where Jean’s two sisters and their families already lived, and where a job awaited Jim at Adams High School. They bought a house on NE 22nd across from Alberta Park and became deeply involved in neighborhood, city and school affairs. Jean volunteered for the Vernon parents association, the school district’s desegregation advisory committee, Schools for the City, and other groups.
In a 1991 lay sermon at her church, referring to the mid-1970s, Jean said, “Around the age of 36, things started going amok. In a very big way.” The “amok” was complex, and included Jim’s mental health crises, their 1978 divorce, and his nearly-fatal physical collapse in 1981. In that sermon, Jean went on to say, “With hindsight, I can say – I had never really learned to deal with pain. I turned to pain killers that came in pint, or fifth or half gallon bottles.”
With the help of her family doctor, 12-step programs, outpatient rehab, old friends, family, and God, she began to “get out of that physical, emotional, spiritual bondage.” Last June, Jean celebrated her 43rd AA birthday.
Jean enjoyed road trips, Willie Nelson, blueberry farms, Indian food, Spirit Mountain casino, the newspaper, international crafts, the church choir, and family stories. She had a creative streak. In the 1970s, she sewed much of her own and her kids’ clothing and created many embroideries. In later years, she made greeting cards featuring photos she’d taken in Alberta Park, the Columbia River Gorge, northern New Mexico, and points beyond. She sold and gave away many of the cards and used others to keep up her own prolific correspondence.
In the early 1980s, Jean began a roughly 20-year career with Multnomah County, initially working for Commissioner Pauline Anderson, before moving into administrative roles in drug and alcohol services and behavioral health. She was a founding member of the Willamette Light Brigade. A County colleague recently described her as “a heartfelt and passionate woman whom I admired for her strength and intelligence,” adding that she was known for her “honesty and clarity about the County’s purpose.”
Jean lived for many of her retirement years with complex health challenges. She endured setbacks others might not have survived, but they did limit her ability to live independently and participate in some of her favorite activities. She never lost what she valued most: Connecting with people.
Jean was preceded in death by her parents, Gordon and Connie Manly; her former husband, Jim Bucciarelli; her “beau,” Wally Luchetti; and many other loved ones, including dear friends from childhood, college, work and church. She is survived by her two children, Jessica (Kat) and Gracie (Kristen); her grandchild, Jasper, son of Gracie and Kristen; her sisters, Mara (Ken) and Ruth (Phil); and many friends and family in Portland and far beyond.
Jean lived across from Alberta Park for nearly half a century and was a member of nearby Ainsworth United Church of Christ for more than 40 years. Her memorial service will take place at 3 pm on Saturday, May 23, at the church, 2941 NE Ainsworth St, Portland, Oregon.
The family thanks the kind and hard-working staff of Cedar Senior Living, Housecall Providers Hospice, and Providence Mobile Health.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Jean’s memory may be made to Heifer International (heifer.org), Ainsworth UCC (aucc.org), or an organization that you admire for its work to make Portland and the larger world more just, peaceful and beautiful.
