By CSC COLLEGE RELATIONS
Dr. Deane Tucker, a Professor of English, Humanities, and Philosophy at Chadron State College, died early Sunday morning in Rapid City, South Dakota. He was 64.
“Dr. Tucker met students where they were at and provided them with meaningful opportunities to develop and succeed. His curiosity, creativity, and passion for learning were evident in his teaching,” said CSC President Jodi Kupper. “For more than 25 years, Dr. Tucker’s presence on campus positively impacted many students and peers. We will miss him, and I extend my deepest sympathies to his family, friends, colleagues, and students.”
Tucker, a native Floridian who said he loved the Great Plains of Nebraska but would always yearn for the sea, joined the CSC faculty in 1998 and taught courses in the humanities and philosophy. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of West Florida before earning a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Humanities from Florida State University.
An accomplished scholar and writer, Tucker’s research interests included continental philosophy, aesthetics, film philosophy, and modernism. He published three academic books centered around those interests: Derridada: Duchamp as Readymade Deconstruction; Terrence Malick: Film and Philosophy; and The Peripatetic Frame: Images of Walking in Film.
Although he didn’t consider himself a poet, Tucker published a book of poetry in 2025, The Pleistocene Sea: Poems; and he was widely published in poetry journals and gave public readings.
“Poetry, for me, doesn’t have to be about truth with a capital T, rather it is evocative of smaller truths,” Tucker said in a 2024 interview. “It’s an attempt to create a small clearing in the world.”
Tucker was an active faculty member and was well-respected by his peers as well as students. Alongside the late Dr. Tom Smith, former Professor of History, Tucker led a study abroad trip to Cuba for students to immerse themselves in Cuban culture and had them relate that experience back to their own academic disciplines.
Prior to teaching at CSC, Tucker lived in several major American cities and accumulated a range of experiences, working at various times as a waiter, film production assistant, museum security guard, documentary film researcher, surfing instructor, and book editor.
Tucker is survived by his wife, Dr. Katy Woods; daughter, Yvonne Crepps; two grandchildren, Everly and Oliver; and two brothers, Greg and Danny.
Those wishing to leave memories in a remembrance book for Tucker’s family may visit the Liberal Arts Office in Old Admin, Room 211.