Earl Wayne Tucker, 82, passed away Thursday, June 8, 2023 at Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff, NE.
He was born on July 26, 1940 in Mullen, Nebraska to Marion Francis and Dorothy Dale (Edelman) Tucker. Earl spent the younger years of his life on the Peterson Ranch until he reached school age.
On September 21, 1961 he entered the U.S. Navy. He was first based in Long Beach, CA. Following boot camp he was stationed at Treasure Island for Radarman School and home based in San Diego. He served on a Destroyer for the rest of his service time. The ship would visit Hawaii, Japan, Hong Kong and Vietnam. He would later be trained to be on the space capsule retrieval teams. He was honorably discharged on January 20, 1966.
On June 24, 1962 he was united in marriage to Linda V. Hillyer in Alliance. Upon his discharge from the Navy Earl returned to Alliance and went to work for Hillyer-Nay Plumbing. After a while he worked at Safeway before getting back into plumbing. He then went to work with Junior Tritle at Tritle Plumbing. After 12 years he went into business for himself operating Tuck’s Plumbing and Supply serving the Alliance and surrounding area from 1993 until his health forced his retirement in 2008.
He is survived by his wife, Linda, his children, Terry (Evonne) Tucker of Buffalo, WY, Robin (Kirk) Rickman of Wellington, OH and Ryan (Chrissy) Tucker of Jacksonville, FL, his grandchildren, Cassie (Brett) Lang of Denver, CO, Jamie Tucker of Buffalo, WY, Blake (Amanda) Rickman and Kasey Rickman of Elyria, OH, his great-grandchildren, Cody, Nicholas, Lilly and Sidney Rickman. He is also survived by his sisters, Georgiana Epperson of Matthews, VA and Marian Christophers of Douglas, WY, brother Donald Dean Tucker of Alliance and his lifelong friend, Larry Johnson of Omaha. He is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and his sisters, Sharon Batt, Joann Aguallo and Darlene Hall and his brother John.
Graveside services will be Tuesday, June 20 at 10:00 a.m. at the Alliance Cemetery with Rev. Dr. Gideon Achi officiating along with military honors.
Memorials may be given to the United Methodist Church or to a charity of the donor’s choice.