Kenneth Richard Tucker MD FACS was born November 19th 1936, to high school teacher Juanita Faye (Nutting) and Seventh Day Adventist Pastor Eugene Howard Tucker. He was their second son. He seemed to take to adventure pretty quickly. By 3 weeks old, he was on his first road trip, napping in a basket on the back seat of his Uncle Clarence's new car.
Ken attended Mt. Ellis Academy in Bozeman Montana. He met Sharon Lou McLeod while studying for his BA from Whitman College in Walla Walla WA. They were married in 1958 and had their first son, Scott, while in Walla Walla. Ken and Sharon then had two more children, Lyn and Mark, as he worked toward his MD from the U of W School of Medicine in Seattle in 1965. Ken loved to learn and enjoyed his extended years of medical study immensely. He continued friendships made at each school throughout his life, enjoying meeting up with old friends whenever possible. He completed medical and surgery internships in Baltimore, General Surgery residencies at Marquette in Milwaukee WI and Baylor in Houston TX.
He supplemented his income with odd jobs adding them into an already full schedule - as a cook on a fish processor in Naknek during summers, counting cars, as a medical subject for various experiments, as a ranch hand on a large horse farm in Montana - you could say he embodied the phrase "variety is the spice of life".
During this very busy time, to feed his love of adventure, he planned a "big" adventure for his family, to experience together, before developing his Plastic Surgery practice. Living in Milwaukee, he'd had an idea - to cruise in the tropics on a sailboat with his young family. First he needed to learn to sail, which he did, in a Lightning, on Lake Michigan. Then he taught his wife and children, too, so they would be able crew. And in the spring of 1973, they left from Seabrook TX on a 42' Alden yawl sailboat named Maggie Fury, to cruise the Caribbean for nearly a year. He volunteered his surgical skills throughout the islands, explored, adventured and toiled daily with his family at his side, enjoying the bounty of the natural world he felt so connected to and inspired by.
On returning to land, the family took a road trip through the Pacific Northwest, attempting to decide which town to settle in, where a plastic surgeon and his family could thrive financially and happily. Wenatchee won the vote and Ken began his private solo practice as the first Plastic Surgeon in the area, specializing in hand reconstruction. He loved Wenatchee for its community, natural beauty, four seasons, plentiful sunshine and a variety of outdoor sports - skiing, hiking, fishing, and hunting. He later divorced Sharon and transitioned his practice to Seattle where he performed a higher flow of surgeries and had offices until his retirement in March 2006.
Soon after moving to Seattle, in 1980, he married Joanne Reiner Unterseher and a new, blended family was born, including her children Laurie and Greg. Many an entertaining ski trip, road trip, hiking trip, and boating outing was had, as they all got to know each other better.
Ken was published on a variety of medical subjects, including topics as diverse as wound healing, non-accidental sudden deaths and the use of hypnosis as a tool in plastic surgery. He was a Clinical Asst Professor of Surgery at UW and the VA in Seattle.
Ken had memberships in numerous professional societies and service clubs. He had interests as diverse as learning to pilot a Cessna to commute across the Cascades, climbing Mt Rainier with his son and friends, gardening (growing fruits, vegetables, herbs, flowers and landscaped bonsais), acting as contractor on 32 houses, racing one design boats and placing nationally and traveling, always traveling - to China, Costa Rica, Hawaii, Alaska, South America, a road trip through the American Southwest, to Flathead Lake or Southern California for a regatta or a fossil dig with friends in South Dakota. Sure! He could generally be lured to adventurous activity, always ready to learn something new.
Recently Ken had returned to leading a more spiritual life, studying the Bible and praying daily for years. In 2015, he was, joyfully, re-baptized.
There are so very many stories to share about Ken. He lived more fully than the average person and is missed tremendously.
Ken was pre-deceased by his wife Joanne of 37 years and is succeeded by his brother Donald Tucker of Prescott AZ, sister Linda (George) Groth of Calimesa CA, children Kenneth Scott Tucker of Wenatchee WA, Lyn Jean (Larry) Schildwachter of Seattle WA, Mark Donald Tucker of Wenatchee WA, Laurie Ann (Ken) McEwan of Poulsbo WA, Gregory Scott (Rebecca) Unterseher of Port Orchard WA and grandchildren Krystina, Elizabeth, Kate (Sean), Jameson, Scott, Imogene, Max, Will and great grandchildren - John Mark, Karlie, Keahra, Keon, Liam, Henry & Elliott.
A Celebration of Ken's life will be held at the Poulsbo Seventh Day Adventist Church 1700 NE Lincoln Rd. Poulsbo WA 98320 June 15th 2019 at 4pm Reception following.
For remembrances - in lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the National Kidney Foundation, the Poulsbo SDA church or planting a tree in his honor in your favorite forested place.
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