Needle and Thread

Thousands of stitches, made by the hands of 91-year-old George Tucker, create a depiction of Noah's Ark on a blanket.

Aaron Eisenhauer

George Tucker embroiders for others

George Tucker poses for a portrait at the Missouri Veteran’s Home in Cape Girardeau.

Aaron Eisenhauer

George Tucker was born in Cape Girardeau in 1929. At four years old, his family moved to the St. Louis area where he grew up playing ball and spending all of his time outdoors. By 18 years old, he was serving in the United States Army, stationed in Germany at the start of the Korean War. At age 25, he married Mildred, the love of his life, and together, they had two daughters. It was several years later, at age 40, when his beautiful wife introduced him to a hobby that he has enjoyed for the past 50 years.

Mildred loved to embroider, but she also loved to read. Unfortunately, you can’t do both at the same time. So when Tucker wanted to give up drinking and smoking and needed something to keep his hands busy, she passed the baton — or in this case the embroidery needles and thread — to him. And surprising to both of them, he loved it.

A blanket measuring about three feet wide and five feet long is adorned with thousands of stitches, done by hand by George Tucker, a 91-year-old resident of the Missouri Veterans Home.

Aaron Eisenhauer

“It helps me calm myself down,” says Tucker, who would stop at the library on his way home from work to get a book for his wife. As she sat in the chair and read, he would pick up the embroidery tools and quilt. It was this type of love and companionship that kept their marriage strong for 61 years.

A turn in health for both Mildred and George brought them to the Cape Girardeau area late in life, where they lived together at Saxony Village for almost 11 years. After his wife passed, Tucker moved to the Veteran’s Home in Cape Girardeau, where embroidery remains a big part of his daily life. Between the embroidery work, backing and quilting, there is plenty of work to be done, and Mr. Tucker does all of it by hand.

Thousands of stitches, made by the hands of 91-year-old George Tucker, create a depiction of Noah's Ark on a blanket.

Aaron Eisenhauer

“When I finish one, I start another,” he says, sometimes following the same pattern multiple times in a row, which has been the case lately. Many of the blankets are designed for infants, so patterns of Noah’s ark and other baby-themed prints are usually what is available. But the formed picture is not what matters to Tucker; rather, it’s the repetitive process of picking the needle in and out of the fabric. To Tucker, it’s relaxing. And once he gets going, he doesn’t want to stop.

“I grew up rough and tough,” says Tucker, but he has embraced the softer side, too. While many people are shocked to see a man doing this kind of work, he doesn’t let that stop him from doing it. In fact, he is willing to teach anyone, old or young, man or woman, who wants to learn. He has even volunteered to teach a class at the Veteran’s home.

In fact, it was volunteering throughout his retirement from the barber shop he worked at in the Maplewood area in St. Louis that has kept him going all of these years. When he originally laid down his barber tools after 46 years in business, many people told him not to.

“Retiring isn’t what you think,” they would say. “It’s boring.” But Tucker knew better, and he began working with the homeless population in downtown St. Louis before moving back to Cape. By sharing a sandwich and a few words of encouragement, Tucker was able to meet a need in his community and fill the empty place in his heart where his career had been. He’s never looked back.

But of course, it’s embroidery that fills that space now. And through his dedicated work, he is able to donate more than 15 baby blankets per year to hospital gift shops and the annual Veteran’s Home Fourth of July raffle. In fact, he has never accepted payment for any of his pieces because it’s not about the money or the time; it’s about doing something he loves and sharing that love with others.

“I picked it up because I had to,” says Tucker, but he has kept going because of the joy and purpose it brings to his life. And maybe that’s the secret to growing older and getting wiser: do the things you love, with the people you love, for as long as you can. Give of your time, your resources and your talents, and like Mr. Tucker, you will gain everything you need.