G. Wayne Tucker - Mesa, Arizona

Wednesday, August 1, 2001

G. Wayne Tucker, born on Oct. 5, 1922, to Arthur Carlton and Pearle Mary Martin Tucker at Judsonia, died June 15, 2001, at his home in Mesa, Ariz.

Soon after he was born, the Tuckers moved to Black Water community south of Manila. Tucker graduated from Black Water High School in 1940. He then served in the Civil Conservation Corps before he joined the Army during World War II. He served in the European Theatre as a Tank Commander with the 7th Armoured Division under General George C. Patton. He was the director of the 7th Armoured Division Association and Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge. Each year he has been in the leading vehicle of the at least seven entries from the Lucky 7th in the Apache Junction Parade. He was a lifetime member of the VFW and the American Legion DAV and American Veterans and had served as chaplain for many years. He was of the Assembly of God faith and attended the Apache Junction Church. He always attended the Blackwater Baptist Church after the Black Water Reunion.

Survivors include his wife, Maxine; a daughter Darlene Griffith of Springfield, Va.; a son, Bennie C. Tucker of Buckeye, Ariz.; two stepdaughters, Karen Scofield of Arizona and Debbie Adler of Oklahoma; a stepson, Bob Singer of Missouri; a sister, Marie Hoggarton of Chandler, Ariz.; three brothers, Atlee Tucker of Phoenix, Ariz., George Holden of Mesa, Ariz., and Philip Holden of Riverside, Calif.

He was preceded in death by his parents, a sister, Marion Lela Mullinixs, a son Arthur Carlton Tucker, and a great-grandson, Justin Means.

Funeral services were held in the National Memorial Cemetery in Phoenix June 22.

The family requests that anyone wishing to leave a lasting memorial consider the Blackwater Baptist Church or the Hospice Family Care, 5037 E. Broadway Rd., Mesa, Ariz. 85206.