Tucker, Chester A. 1918 - 2015

TUCKER, MOORE, EDIE, HAMM

Posted By: Joy Moore (email)
Date: 9/4/2015 at 12:54:14

Chester A. Tucker, 97, of Cresco, IA passed away Saturday, August 29, 2015, at his home.

Chester Alan Tucker Jr. was born July 21, 1918, in Petersburg, Virginia. His parents were the Reverend Chester and Ann Henrietta (Moore) Tucker. Chester has a sister Ann, and younger brother Bill who died in childhood.

Chester studied the piano and organ as a young man and played the organ in his father’s church. After graduating from Front Royal Military Academy in Virginia, he attended the University of Michigan for his Bachelor’s Degree in Music. Later, he received his Master’s Degree in Sacred Music from the Union Theological Seminary in New York. While working on his Masters he played the organ in the private chapel of the Rockefeller estate.

Soon, he met “the best thing that happened to him”; his future wife, Rose Marie Edie from Rudd, Iowa. Chester’s first job was in Fort Wayne, Indiana as organist and choirmaster at the Plymouth Congregational Church. Chester and Rose married on Long Island at the Old Presbyterian Church, and were married 67 years. The couple moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan where he was minister of music at the Grand Rapids Congregational Church. He conducted five choirs while playing the organ. Rose taught home making arts at Ottawa Hills high school.

From Grand Rapids, Chester and Rose moved to Chicago in the fall of 1949. They had a son William in December of that year. Chester was organist and choir director at the St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, and then Grace Episcopal Church, while Rose taught Home Economics at Schurg High School.

The economy demanded that Chester make more money, so he got a job with Clow Corporation, a company that made sewer pipe for Chicago. He finished his working career with CSC, a plumbing wholesaler. After retiring, Chester and Rose moved to Cresco where Rose’s mother was living alone. Chester enjoyed his retirement in Cresco. He kept busy with gardening, golf, and of course his lifelong interest in music. He always said, “Cresco is a wonderful place to live.” He appreciated the services and products of the local businesses who helped make it possible for him to live out his life in Cresco.

He is survived by his wife Rose Marie, son Bill both of Cresco, his sister Ann, her daughter Jeanne (Bob) Hamm, and their son Chris (Tracy) Hamm.

Source: Hindt-Hudek Funeral Home database

Howard Obituaries maintained by Constance McDaniel Hall.
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