Hattie M. Tucker

A memorial service will be held 11 a.m. Thursday, January 12 at Laurel Heights United Methodist Church, 227 W. Woodlawn. In lieu of flowers, please send memorial gifts to Laurel Heights UMC.

Hattie was born April 19, 1920 in the Mittendorf farmhouse in San Marcos, Texas to Walter and Katie Mittendorf. She grew up in San Marcos, graduating valedictorian of her class at Southwest Texas State Teachers College with a B.S. in history and speech. At a college reunion in the 1990s, she was voted “best preserved” of her classmates.

She was married to golf pro Woody Tucker, who preceded her in death. During World War II they lived in Greenville, Mississippi, where their daughter Tertia was born. Later, after leaving the service of the Army Air Force, Woody pursued his career in golf, and they lived in the Texas towns of Palestine, Cleburne, Alice, Corpus Christi and San Antonio.

Her lifetime appreciation of history began for her as a high school student when she interviewed Civil War veterans and wrote essays on Hohenberg family history. In the 1950s and ‘60s, she taught high school and junior high American history, English and journalism in Alice and Corpus Christi.

Some of her pleasures were sewing, traveling to small Texas towns, and visiting with friends and family. In her forties she rediscovered painting, a childhood hobby, and had fun with the new friends she made through that activity. She was a member of the Coppini Academy and the San Antonio Watercolor Group and studied with Warren Hunter and Scottie Biggers. Herwatercolor painting of the Franklin House on the grounds of San Antonio Academy was featured as the booklet cover and poster for fundraising for preservation of the building by the Monte Vista Historical Association and the San Antonio Conservation Society.

She mentored children in reading and after school programs at the San Antonio Youth Center at Laurel Heights United Methodist Church and at Travis Elementary School. She enjoyed line dancing at Lions Field. When Woody was in declining health, he went along to watch.

Hattie had a special love for her Mittendorf and Hohenberg cousins, and relished family reunions at Landa Park and gatherings through the years at the San Marcos farm.

She is survived by daughter and son-in-law Tertia and Arthur Emerson of San Antonio, granddaughter Rossi English and grandson Marc Emerson of Austin, and granddaughter Melanie Emerson of the Dominican Republic.