Jeffery James Tucker

He was born in Evanston, Illinois, on the 27th of March 1945, to Phyllis Burnell Tucker and Garrett Rezeau Tucker, Jr. He was raised in Houston and was a graduate of St. John’s School and Amherst College, where he was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and was a four-year letterman on varsity crew.

After graduating from Tulane Medical School, he was an intern at Hermann Hospital, joined the Air Force Reserves, completed a one-year residency in General Surgery at St. Joseph Hospital under Dr. J. Peyton Barnes, and then completed a four-year residency in orthopedics at Hermann Hospital.

He began his private orthopedic practice at Hermann Hospital, Park Plaza Hospital, and Diagnostic Hospital in 1978. Over the next thirty years, he focused his practice on orthopedic trauma at Memorial Hermann Hospital. During this time, he served as a clinical associate professor of orthopedic surgery, mentoring orthopedic residents.

He lived his life with a passion for the outdoors. As a child, he attended Camp Cheley in Estes Park, Colorado, climbing many of the local peaks. As an adult, he was an avid skier and fisherman in his favorite place, Crested Butte, Colorado, and spent many seasons hunting in the Texas Hill Country. He was a member of River Oaks Country Club, St. John the Divine Episcopal Church, and was a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and American College of Surgeons.

He is survived by his loving wife of fifty-two years, Anne Peden Tucker; their children, Catherine Adele Tucker Stelmak and her husband Christopher Martin Stelmak, and Julia Anne Tucker Matheny and her husband Matthew Christopher Matheny; grandchildren, Madeleine Hope Stelmak, Charlotte Camille Stelmak, Mason Davenport Matheny, and Meredith Anne Matheny; siblings, Garrett Rezeau Tucker III, M.D. and his wife Bonnie, and Judith Tucker Earle and her husband Edward Earle, M.D.; brothers-in-law, David Dantzler Peden, Jr. and his wife Leticia Prior Peden, and Thomas Botts Peden and his wife Margaret Rudd Peden; and many nieces and nephews.

The family would like to extend their gratitude to the many doctors, nurses, and medical staff for years of care and friendship.

A memorial service is to be conducted one o’clock in the afternoon on Wednesday, the 18th of December 2019, at The Church of St. John the Divine, 2450 River Oaks Boulevard in Houston, where The Reverend Dr. Reagan Cocke, Sr. Associate Rector and The Reverend Dr. Laurens A. Hall will officiate.

Immediately following, all are invited to greet the family during a reception in the adjacent Sumners Hall.

In lieu of customary remembrances, and for those desiring, the family requests with gratitude that memorial contributions in his name be directed to the Church of St. John the Divine, 2450 River Oaks Blvd., Houston, TX, 77019; to St. John’s School, 2401 Claremont Ln., Houston, TX, 77019; or to the Houston SPCA, 7007 Old Katy Rd., Houston, TX 77024.