BAY POND, NY: Janet Buffinton Rockefeller, 91, known as June, passed away peacefully at her home at Bay Pond, NY, surrounded by family on June 2nd. She was the beloved wife of Frederic L. Rockefeller, with whom she shared 70 years of marriage. Besides being a devoted wife, she was mom to eight children, seven of whom were raised in Westfield: June Maugery (Bernard) of Assy, France; Cynthia Thompson (Jeff) of Mechanicsburg, PA; Elsie Wright (John) of Barrington, RI; Frederic L. Rockefeller, Jr. (Nancy) of Barrington, RI; Elizabeth Rockefeller of Warren, RI; Deborah Roddy (Martin) of Bloomingdale, NY; Shirley Salach (Andrew) of Northwood, NH; and Lien Tieu Fleming (Ted) of Shirley, MA. She was grandma to 19 grandchildren and GG to 10 great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her brother, John Buffinton and leaves a sister, Shirley B. Howe, of South Kent, CT.
June was born December 8, 1926 in New York to Janet Shearson Buffinton and Eliot Buffinton. She and Fred were married in Greenwich, CT, on September 6, 1947. They lived in Iowa, then Auburndale, MA, then were residents of Westfield, MA for 18 years, then Barrington, RI and Warren, RI for 30 years before moving to Bay Pond for the last 10 years. June was a member of the St. Luke Church community in Saranac Lake, and formerly a member at St. John’s in Barrington, RI, and the Church of the Atonement in Westfield. She was appreciated and admired by many as a leader of spiritual retreats and prayer groups. June was the founder of the Corliss Center in Warren, RI in 1982, which serves the deaf community of Rhode Island, including her daughter, Betsy.
Since her stroke in October of 2017, she had been cared for at home by a loving and skilled group of caregivers whom she loved and whom the whole family appreciates.
A funeral service will be held Friday, June 8, at 11:00 a.m. at the Church of St. Luke, 136 Main Street in Saranac Lake, NY, followed by a reception in the parish hall. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Corliss Institute of 290 Main Street in Warren, RI 02889, the Church of St. Luke or a charity of your choice.
