He is survived by his wife Katy; daughter Kim Martinez; son-in-law, Joe Martinez; grandkids Michael, Kathryn and Vincent; son Jim Tucker; daughter-in-law Dyana Tucker; grandkids Nathan and Audrey; son Tom Tucker; daughter-in-law, Laura Lee Tucker; grandpuppies Cooper and Molly; his brother Scott Tucker, sister-in-law Shirleen Tucker and many beloved In-laws, nieces and nephews.
Preceded in death by his parents Lawrence and Ida Tucker; sister Marilee Sellers; brother-in-law, Jerry Sellers; nephews Joel Webb and Tim Taylor; sister-in-law, Mary Beth Taylor.
Mike was born and raised in Omaha, NE. He graduated from Benson High School “Bunny” in 1962. Throughout Grade School and High School he was a Caddy at Omaha Country Club. He also played on the High School Golf Team. He went to University of Nebraska at Lincoln for 1 year but then had to come back home to attend the University of Nebraska at Omaha because he was having too much fun in Lincoln. Upon returning to Omaha he obtained employment at Lewis Market and that is where he met his future bride to be in 1963, Katy, who worked in the Bakery. Katy went to Central High “Eagles” in Omaha. Apparently the Eagle caught the Bunny as they were married for 55 years and raised three kids. Tucker (as his friends called him) was a busy fellow and did not like idle time. He graduated UNO with a Bachelor’s degree in math then went on to get his Master’s in Business Administration. He belonged to chess clubs, ran marathons, played in golf leagues, was a football referee, played in racquetball leagues, socialized with his friends, loved his wife and was a Dad. As a Dad, he taught his kids many life skills such as changing tires, mowing yards, fixing cars and on occasion how to enjoy a margarita. He involved them in sports like Racquetball, Hockey, Golf and Waterskiing. Games like Backgammon, Cribbage and Tic were also taught. Vacations at Lake Okoboji were very important to Mike and the family. The vacations started in 1967 as the honeymoon destination with Katy and continued yearly till the mid-1990s. There are many occasions were Tucker might have gotten lost at Okoboji.
Mike went to work for Northern Natural Gas in September of 1967 then married Katy in December of 1967. Mike’s work in the pipeline business took him faraway from Omaha to many places such as South America, Australia, Europe, Southern Asia and Canada. Tucker transitioned to a Professional Divot Fixer after his career as a Pipeliner in the late 1990’s. As a Professional Divot Fixer he enjoyed lots of golf, traveling, more margarites and lake times with the family. He also volunteered at the Conroe Hospital and Salvation Army when not fixing divots.
His CB radio handle back in the day was the Roadrunner because of his love of running. Using some CB lingo here is his final callout. “I’ve had a smooth run. I’ll catch you on the flip side. Until then, keep your rubber side down and one eye on the bears…..Roadrunner Out!”
Funeral Service at 10:00 a.m. Saturday January 7, 2023 at Metcalf Funeral Home, 1801 E. White Oak Terrace, Conroe, TX.
Visitation to be held 1 hour prior to service.
Memorials to the family for future designation to aid with dementia and cancer awareness.
