Joanne Buckert McDermott

Joanne Frances Buckert McDermott passed away on August 2, 2024 due to natural causes. Born in 1930 in Rochester, NY, to Walter J. Buckert, Sr., and Marjorie D. Hurley, she graduated from Nazareth High School, and then came to Washington, DC where she enrolled at the Washington School for Secretaries, graduating in 1953. She married Francis O. McDermott in April of 1955 at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Brighton, NY. The couple then settled in Washington, DC before moving to Arlington, VA where they had five children and attended St. Charles Borromeo Parish beginning in 1958. Joanne worked for the Joint Committee on Internal Revenue Taxation (JCIRT) for over two decades before retiring and starting a new career in Pastoral Counseling. She earned her degree in Theology at Trinity University in Washington, DC and then received her Masters in Theology from DeSales School of Theology in 1994. Salesian spirituality was essential to Joanne’s faith and drove her to seek out leadership positions within the family of the St. Francis DeSales Association. Trips with the Salesians included Puerto Rico, Haiti, and of course, France. As a member of the Association of Christian Therapists (ACT), Joanne traveled to retreats and meetings all over the U.S. She also had a lifelong devotion to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and journeyed to Rome in 1975 for the canonization. The Holy Land held a special place in her heart.

As part of her ministry, Joanne helped lead efforts to assimilate Vietnamese immigrants in Arlington and participated in several mission trips to Haiti. She was a founding member of Children of God’s Love prayer group at St. Charles, several charismatic renewal prayer groups, and the apostolic movement called Cursillo. She coordinated activities and newsletters for CODA groups as well. As a Depression-era youth who participated in drives to support World War II efforts, she became a fierce believer in recycling and repurposing and taught her children the value of the maxim, “waste not, want not.”

After moving to The Belvedere Condominium in Rosslyn and then onto Fairfield, PA, Joanne continued her career as a Pastoral Counselor for St. Mary’s Parish in Fairfield. No matter which parish she attended, Joanne could be found playing the organ, serving on countless committees, contributing as a Eucharistic Minister, or working for ecumenical celebrations. She was devoted to her family and her church and loved to share her talents with whatever community she found herself in, including St. Elizabeth’s Hall where she lived since 2019. Her last ministry was making bedside visits to hospice patients and knitting prayer shawls for their comfort.

Services include a viewing at Murphy’s Funeral Home in Arlington, VA on Thursday August 8 from 6 to 8 PM. A funeral Mass follows on Friday, August 9 at St. Charles Borromeo Church in Arlington at 11:00 AM. Interment will be at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Rochester, NY the following week. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you please send a donation to either The Salvation Army USA, of Alexandria, VA or the Oblate Development Fund of Wilmington, DE for their service works program in Childs, MD.

Special Intentions go to the entire Salesian Family who embraced Joanne with such tremendous enthusiasm and compassion, and to the St. Charles Borromeo community who were so important in the religious formation of the entire McDermott family. Joanne’s many friend groups included the Gumballs of Rochester, her Beehive in Fairfield, the Red Hat Society, and her dominoes and knitting clubs.