Tara Sue Buckley

December 30, 1954 - September 7, 2020

Tara Sue Buckley Tara Sue Buckley, born Dec. 30, 1954, died Sept. 7, 2020, peacefully in her sleep of end-stage cerebral palsy at Carondelet Place in Kansas City, Missouri. Tara was adopted at an early age by Hazel Fern Bryant Buckley and Ernest Buckley, who celebrated her achievements and predeceased her in 2000. Tara had one sibling, Dennis, who predeceased her. Tara graduated from Shawnee Mission West High School in Overland Park, Kansas, and worked at a Burger King and later the beauty salon of her friend Sheila Kazimi. Tara and her father had season’s tickets to the Chiefs, Nick Lowery befriended her, and she was a life-long Chiefs fan as well as a Royals promoter. Tara’s mother took her to see the Beatles perform in KC MO in 1964—Tara became hoarse from screaming at them. In 2014, Tara attended the performance at Sprint Arena of Paul McCartney, with a special seat in the balcony, where in one outburst, she called out in joy to Paul onstage, “You pointed right at me!” A perpetual tease, Tara loved to give people a hard time and would ask the staff at nursing homes when they came to visit her, “Why are you here? Get to work!” In her later years, Tara and Salli Henry became fast friends, considering each other sisters, sharing good times, giving each other advice. They both took care of Tara’s last cat, Nora Jane. They were roommates at Waterford South in Kansas City and Hidden Lake in Raytown, Missouri. Tara attended the Thursday Evening Care sessions at Valley View Methodist Church in Overland Park, and friends from that program—Ginni and Steve Duggan--held power of attorney (POA) for her, as did her Overland Park neighbors Henry and Jane Stoever. Even though Tara used Henry’s legal services, she pumelled him with lawyer jokes. The four POAs helped Tara move to various apartments and facilities during the 20 years after her parents died. Tara bravely dealt with the consequences of cerebral palsy and epilepsy throughout her life. The staff of Good Shepherd Hospice—nurse Sandy Smith, social worker Erica Maupin, and chaplain Mary Linda McDonnell—befriended her and helped her regain strength during the last 18-20 months of her life. The memorial service to celebrate Tara’s life will be held outside at the front entry to the residence of Salli Henry, Garden Valley Healthcare Center, 8575 N. Granby Ave., Kansas City, MO 64154, Sept. 18, 10 a.m. Arrangements and obituary through Reflections Memorial Services of Kansas City, MO. Donations may be made in Tara’s honor to either the Humane Society of Greater Kansas City, 5445 Parallel Parkway, Kansas City, KS 66104, or to Good Shepherd Hospice, 123 W. Kansas Ave., Independence, MO 64050.