Margaret Madeleine (Buccino) Vaccaro

Margaret M. Vaccaro, born July 20, 1922 on East 86th Street in New York City, grew up in the Morris Park section of the Bronx and passed away on April 21, 2026. She and her husband Paul, whom she married on November 11, 1945, raised three daughters and lived in Syosset and Monroe, New York before retiring to Holiday Heights in Berkeley Township, New Jersey. They later returned to New York in 2007, settling at Drum Hill Senior Living in Peekskill.

Her early life was marked by service during World War II, when she volunteered as a Red Cross Aide at the Bronx Veteran’s Hospital. While attending Hunter College, she also worked summers as a cost accountant at Jacob’s Shipyard, where “World War II LSTs and Mine Sweepers were being built.”

In 1967, she returned to the workforce as the Certified Director of Patient Accounts at Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, New York. Achieving certification required passing a rigorous nationwide exam, “something that very few achieved at the time.” After retiring in 1991, she continued contributing her expertise as a healthcare finance consultant for Westchester County facilities.

Margaret’s civic leadership flourished after moving to Holiday Heights. She served on the Board of Directors, chaired the ByLaws Committee, and oversaw major revisions of the community’s governing handbooks. She went on to lead the Coalition of Holiday City/Silver Ridge Park Homeowner Associations, served on the Berkeley Township Board of Education, and chaired both the Planning Board and Environmental Commission. Her public service extended to Senator Jon Corzine’s Senior Issues Advisory Task Force, the League of Women Voters of Ocean County, and the Holiday Heights First Aid Squad Auxiliary.

At Drum Hill, she was elected in 2010 to lead what she transformed into the Residents’ Council, serving as Chairperson for thirteen years. Her most enduring contribution there was her stewardship of the Staff Holiday Fund, which she managed for fifteen years to ensure “an equitable distribution of Resident contributions for nonmanagement employees.”

She lived by the creed: “We are all blessed with talents of one sort or another and we are called upon to use those gifts for the good of all.” She loved reading, staying informed, and offering thoughtful guidance to those around her. Her kindness, wit, and steady leadership touched everyone who knew her. She approached every role — mother, friend, neighbor, volunteer — with grace and purpose.

She also had a wonderful sense of humor and a clear-eyed practicality. She often joked, “Be reasonable — do it my way,” a line delivered with the mix of warmth and authority that made people smile even as they listened. To her daughter Ann, she was simply “Honeybunch,” a name she used with affection throughout her life. Her drive and intellect shaped every chapter of her journey, and she believed deeply that it was important to “know when to get off the stage,” a philosophy she lived with dignity and intention.

Margaret was predeceased by her husband Paul in 2012 after 66 years of marriage. She is survived by her three daughters—Ann Teich (Lee), Barbara Alexander (Steven Cohen), and Margaret Ross—along with grandchildren Andrew Alexander, Rebecca Ross, Jessica Stanczyk (Keith), greatgrandchildren Christopher and Cameron Stanczyk, and a wide circle of beloved cousins, nieces, nephews, and extended family who cherished her guidance, humor, and steady presence.

She lived nearly 104 years with purpose, humor, and an unwavering belief in using one’s gifts for the good of all.

Funeral and memorial services will be held at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Pleasantville, with interment at Fair Ridge Cemetery in Chappaqua.

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