Frank Tucker

June 13, 2007

Funeral services for Frank Tucker, 85, of Jefferson will be 10:30 am Monday June 18, 2007 at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Jefferson, with burial in St. Joseph Cemetery, Jefferson. Visitation will start at 9:00 AM Sunday, June 17, 2007, at Slininger-Rossow Funeral Home in Jefferson. Vigil for the Deceased will be at 4:00 pm Sunday afternoon, with family visitation to follow until 6:00pm at the funeral home. Frank Thomas Tucker, Jr. was born July 6, 1921 in Davenport, Iowa. He was the oldest of 3 children born to Frank Thompson Tucker and Marie Louise Carberry. The family moved to Atlantic, Iowa from Panora in 1935, when Frank Sr. became a County Conservation Officer with what is now the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Frank “Junior” as he was called in those days, graduated from Atlantic High School in 1938. He started college at Iowa State University, but withdrew to enlist in the Iowa National Guard, with subsequent assignment to the Army Air Corps, where he served in the European theater of operations until the end of World War II. Frank continued to serve in the Iowa National Guard following World War II, attaining the rank of Captain, commanding the Jefferson unit for over 10 years, and retiring from reserve service in 1964. 2nd Lieutenant Tucker married Beulah Arlene Rasmussen, his hometown sweetheart, at Camp Chafee, Arkansas on August 13, 1943. Following his military service, Frank enrolled at the University of Iowa, and graduated from the College of Pharmacy in 1949. He accepted a position with Rex Pharmacy in his hometown of Atlantic, where he worked until he purchased Lyon Drug in Jefferson in 1953. Frank owned and operated Tucker Pharmacy for nearly 30 years. Frank was a strong advocate of community service, and was extremely active in both Jefferson and Greene County, serving as a member of the City Council, followed by service to the Board of Supervisors, where he served one term as Chairman. He served as President of the Jefferson Chamber of Commerce, the Jefferson Rotary Club, as well as giving his time and energy to many other civic and church organizations. Frank was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church. Frank and Bea raised their 3 children in Jefferson. Frank died on June 13, 2007 at the Greene County Medical Center at the age of 85. He was preceded in death by his son, Ted; his parents, Frank and Marie; his brother, Bill; and his sister, Rosemary. Survivors include his wife, Bea of Jefferson; his son, Tom and his wife Georgia, of Arlington, Virginia; and his daughter Julie of Phoenix, Arizona. Frank has 4 grandsons; Tony of Boston, Massachusetts; Tyler of Fairfax; Virginia, Tyler of Phoenix, Arizona; and Eric of Phoenix, Arizona; and 1 great-grandson, Miles, son of Tony and Anita, of Boston, Massachusetts. Memorials may be made to either the St. Joseph Catholic Church or the Greene County Emergency Medical Service (EMS).