May 4, 1942 – December 25, 2024
On December 25, 2024, Bill Tucker passed away after a short, unexpected illness at age 82.
William or Bill, as he was known to friends and family, was born to Arnold and Beth Tucker of Bangor, Maine in 1942. He was the first of his family to graduate from college, earning a BS in Business Administration from Arizona University in 1967 and subsequently, a MA in City Planning from the University of California, Berkeley in 1969.
However, music was his first love; before beginning college, he enlisted in the Army, playing bass trombone with the 7th Army Symphony.
After his enlistment ended, Bill pursued two endeavors. either playing bass trombone professionally or working as a planner with San Mateo County and later with the Western Division, Naval Facilities Engineering Command in San Bruno, California.
His Navy years comprised of notable work for the following: “Master Plan Mare Island Naval Complex Vallejo, CA, 1980; “Naval Auxiliary Landing Field, Crows Landing Master Plan 1981;” “Master Plan Navy Training Center, San Diego, 1981;” “Master Plan for Naval Air Station, Fallon, Nevada, 1983 “and “Regional Plan for the San Francisco Bay Area Naval Shore Facilities, 1986.”
Retiring at age 50 gave Bill time to live well and pursue personal interests such as travel, cooking (Indian lamb was a family favorite), recreational racing, Sierra backpacking, and mountain climbing. There was ample time to tour many US national parks such as Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Mesa Verde, Glacier. He often recounted escaping a Mexican volcano top during a lightning storm.
His marriage to Nancy lasted more than 50 years; he was a loyal and loving partner. His acerbic sense of humor often carried the day when humor was needed.
He espoused traditional civic virtues, voting in every election, carefully researching candidates and issues.
Bill was predeceased by beloved cats Groucho, Gretchen, Chloe, Tawny Paw, and Maine coon cats Rusty and Rudy. He was survived by his wife Nancy Tucker of Los Altos, brother Thomas and wife Sharon Tucker of Portland, Maine and brother Stephen Tucker of South Carolina.
Please consider a donation in Bill’s memory to the Nine Lives Foundation of Redwood City or the National Parks Conservation Association (ncpa.org).
