Darl Fay Tucker

The earth’s song has changed its tune because of the significant life of Darl Tucker. He is truly an extraordinary creation of God. Darl’s diligence and gifting will affect the generations to come. He was born March 22, the eighth and middle child of 16 to Otis and Grace Tucker. From his beginnings in 1950 in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, there was God, music, scholarships, growing up 6”6” tall and helping others.

Of great importance to Darl is a large American family with 5 brothers, 5 sisters, 2 sons, 5 daughters, 2 daughters-in-law, 4 sons-in-law, 27 grand children and 3 great grandchildren remaining.

He always tried to give attention to the positive training and affirmation of children and youth.

Darl’s passion and ability to hear music and words comprehensively made him a master writer, instructor, musician and conductor.

He was also a financial consultant and accountant with goals for his clients that included keeping their assets maintained and growing.

As an ordained minister and music director spanning over 40 years, Darl lived in various US cities and spent excessive periods of time teaching and traveling in America and many countries abroad.

For decades Darl worked assisting and promoting church people and church organizations. Sadly there was an absence of wise minister mentors during these consuming years and broken trust, wrong perceptions and double-minded living quietly shielded Darl. With pride and stubbornness intact he learned to rely on self-preservation by controlling situations and hiding uncomfortable facts, and never wanting to be embarrassed. As well, Darl led many people, as well as church friends, to believe that the marriage he was in was viable for the sake of reputation, donations, and the educational stability of the younger children, when in fact it was irreconcilably breached with numerous extra marital involvements on both sides.

Knowing and living this was too difficult and emotionally taxing and he desperately desired to make changes, living a simpler and more real life. Darl wanted a new start so he came to Western Canada to be with Annie and tried to find healing and restoration from religious struggles but with old habits, frustrations and with re emerging anger, this proved to be difficult. He pressed on and made his home base in Chilliwack, B.C. with Annie and worked at obtaining a permanent Canadian residency.

Darl was always dealing with the financial pressure of not enough cash flow to meet his family and friends ongoing needs. Trying to relieve this stress, Darl’s demanding lifestyle became more reflective and he invested time learning to do more tasks with computer influence and online.

Darl and Annie went periodically to a few different churches. The one church that brought healing for Darl was the Church of Zion (a Cantonese Translating Church) and he liked to attend there as often as the long driving distance would allow. This is where some confessions of the truths of an imperfect journey were met with acceptance, grace and mercy. The Senior Pastor Papa Gideon even symbolically received Darl as a spiritual son and this impacted him deeply. Darl was in agreement with Zion’s standard of mercy and honour and it was a great comfort to him. Darl’s own desire to try to have a merciful and gracious approach gave him a very favorable reputation along life’s way.

He also became acquainted with the Reach Art Gallery where Darl came to play jazz piano for some of the exhibit openings. The people in the gallery community breathed a new season into Darl and Annie’s lives and the organizational Leaders of Excellence gave a regal enthusiasm to the unity of common creative goals.

In the recent years, Darl grew to appreciate Canadian culture and history and he really enjoyed playing the Canadian National Anthem.

Darl spent many hours doing accounting for American clients online, making and archiving music, taking and saving digital photographs and in his break time, he enjoyed watching TV sports like basketball, football, hockey, golf and even curling on occasion.

With Darl’s love for Annie and her family came so, so many wonderful experiences and outings. There were hundreds of weekly lunches or dinners with Annie, family and friends. Darl thoroughly enjoyed watching Annie’s daughter Emmanuella playing volleyball and rugby and her son Mitchell playing hockey. He also enjoyed taking digital videos of them.

On any occasion that Annie’s grandson Curtis (now 6) was in attendance, Darl made special time to play games, do puzzles and interact with fun and laughter and always looked forward to having bonding times with him.

With all Darl’s experiences helping Annie in her need for accessible facilities, his eyes were open to the great difficulties the physically challenged endured in these seemingly modern days and Darl became a heartfelt advocate and even wanted to start a M.S. foundation with Annie.

Here is a poem that Darl wrote to Annie for one mothers’ day…

Sometimes I stop and wonder just where my life would be

were not for the encounter that brought you here to me…

Yes oft I think of grandeur that lofty heights I’d soar

without you as an anchor to keep my ship ashore.

But life in season’s splendor oft disregard it’s times

and learn what real to follow a fantasy in mind.

The love you give is priceless the friendship not replaced

the eyes intent to focus life’s vision to embrace.

I haste to say I Love You and thank God that I see,

a love for me I scarce deserve, a heart securing me.

Happy Mother’s Day, Annie, I Love You!!!

In the years Darl lived in Canada with Annie, every week he experienced new adventures. He saw many sights and attractions in B.C. like the harbor dinner cruises, lunches at the Jewish Cultural Center, Caribbean Festival, Lonsdale Quay, Granville Island, Victoria and Buchart Gardens, Annie’s grandparents 65th wedding anniversary in Powell River, Whistler Jazz festival, White Rock, several gardens like Minters, Park and Tilford, Van Dusen and Queen Elizabeth, many symphonies, musical theme concerts, plays and the Grouse Mountain gondola. There were countless romantic dinner at restaurants like the Salmon House on the hill, Grouse Nest, three restaurants in Canada Place, the Vancouver Hotel, Joe Fortes, Chateau Whistler, The Boathouse, Milestones, Jackson’s and Vancouver’s revolving restaurant and many others. There were many drives with frappachino stops, picnics, water parks, fireworks, swimming, movies in theatres and of course lots of specialty food grocery shops. He even enjoyed the achievement of the assembly of furniture.

When leaving B.C. for trips and excursions, Darl and Annie travelled to Tulsa and Nashville via Atlanta, Detroit and Seattle. There were Christmas and New Year’s vacations to Disneyworld Florida, birthday celebration trips to Mazatlan, Mexico, accounting conferences to Calgary, Alberta and Darl and Annie took a two week drive across America to Nashville for one of the daughter’s graduations.

These are some of the highlights of Darl’s most recent years and the hardest part was wishing we could have known what the future held so we could have accomplished more desires and dreams to feel like we’d done all we could. Our lives go so fast, Darl really hoped he would live decades longer. He knew and loved many people and many people loved and thought they knew him but when it’s all said and done, God is the one that really completely knows Darl (Doyle), that truly complex man, who is finished living with brokenness and pain. He is in a new dimension that we cannot now fully understand. People that Darl met may say that his life was valued and so needed; Darl would say everyone’s life is valued and needed.

Eternity, living forever with a God that created and loves us, is what Darl believes. Even though life was imperfect, frightening, confusing and was sometimes much too hard, Darl still had faith to believe in a God he had never seen and in a Heaven he couldn’t even imagine.

Finally – song lyrics

“Heaven is a wonderful place, filled with glory and grace. I want to see my Saviors face. Heaven is a wonderful place . . . I want to go there.”

Oh, that Darl’s faith may be an inspiration to us, til we are together, worshipping Jesus and knowing His love for endless time . . .

Arrangements under the direction of Henderson's Funeral Homes & Crematorium Ltd., Chilliwack, British Columbia.