Jack Tucker

BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. -- Jack Dalton Tucker passed away peacefully Monday, March 18, 2019, at his home in Blue Springs. He was 89.

Jack lived in East Prairie, Missouri, for 47 years before moving to the Kansas City, Missouri, area in 2004.

He was born Jan. 16, 1930, near Cassville, Missouri, to the late Oliver and Ardelia Preddy Tucker. He was united in marriage to Martha Ellen Thompson on June 19, 1955, in Jackson, Tennessee. The happy couple was married 51 years and was only parted by Ellen's death in 2006.

Jack was a member of First Baptist Church in East Prairie, where he served as chairman of the deacons and Sunday school superintendent and was on numerous church committees. He was also elected moderator of the Charleston Baptist Association.

He served on the board of directors of the East Prairie Nutrition Center for eight years and was chairman of the board for seven years. Jack was instrumental in the 2006 building, which bears his name.

Jack taught school for four decades, and he was an educator and a principal in the East Prairie School District for 38 of those years. He earned a master's in education from the University of Missouri in 1968, and a bachelor's from Bethel College in McKenzie, Tennessee.

Jack was active in making the education system what it is today. He was president of the Community Teachers Association three times, president of the Southeast District of the Missouri State Teachers Association and a was a leader in both the local and state school systems.

Jack is survived by three children, Sarah Ellen (Alec) Poff of Blue Springs; Janelle Marie (Adam) Cardenas of Fort Worth, Texas; and Keith Oliver (Sandra) Tucker of Keller, Texas. He is also survived by five grandchildren, April (Joe) Buchanan, John David Poff, Mary Ellen Poff (Chris) Lohmann, Christine Marie Tucker and Matthew Dalton Tucker; three great-grandchildren, Nathan Buchanan and Annaleigh and Lydia Lohmann; a sister-in-law, Shirley Tucker; and several nieces and nephews and many friends.

In addition to his wife, Jack was preceded in death by his parents and a brother, Floyd Oren Tucker.

Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday at Shelby Funeral Home in East Prairie.

Funeral will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at First Baptist Church, with Brother George White officiating. Interment will be at Memorial Park Cemetery in East Prairie.

Memorial contributions may be made to East Prairie Nutrition Center, 304 E. Main, East Prairie, MO 63845 or First Baptist Church, 205 Pearl St., East Prairie, MO 63845.