Col. Harold J. "Joe" Tucker's Obituary
Col. Harold J. (Joe) Tucker, 87, died peacefully Tuesday, January 17, 2012, with his wife, Margaret (Sie), at his bedside in Norman, Oklahoma. Col. Tucker had lived in North Muskegon for over 20 years, enjoying fishing and boating, and spending winters in Florida. Born in Lansing, Michigan on March 2, 1924, Joe grew up in Jackson where he graduated from Jackson High School in 1942, and attended Jackson Junior College until joining the Army Air Corps in 1943. Tucker served as a gunner on B-24s and B-29s in the Pacific Theatre, where he flew in the first B-29 raid over Tokyo on November 24, 1944 and participated in 44 missions in the 73rd Bomb Wing of the 20th Air Force. He was credited with shooting down 14 enemy aircraft and was awarded the Legion of Merit, 2 Distinguished Flying Crosses, the Air Medal with 7 oak leaf clusters, and the Distinguished Service Medal with 2 oak leaf clusters. After the war, Tucker returned to Jackson, started two successful businesses, and joined the Michigan National Guard. He retired from the Guard as a Colonel and served on the State Military Board until the mid 1990s. His civic activities included the expansion of Reynolds Municipal Airport and converting the old Jackson prison into a National Guard Armory. A pilot, Joe loved to hunt and fish, and used his airplane to take his friends on many trips. In his later years, his love of the water and the outdoors kept him active. Just last October, Joe traveled to Washington DC on an Honor Flight for WW II veterans with his son, Don, where he was greeted at the WW II Memorial by his grandson, Matt Tucker, his wife Sara, and his great granddaughter, Louise. Tucker is survived by his wife, Margaret; two brothers and their wives, Donald L. and Kay Tucker of Jackson Michigan and Paul and Beth Tucker of Dayton Ohio; his two sons and their wives, Don and Leslie Tucker of Landrum South Carolina and David and Karen Tucker of Jackson, Michigan; stepchildren, Dan Brown of Norman Oklahoma, Marie and Bruce Bethke of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida; six grandchildren and three great grandchildren. The FUNERAL SERVICE will be 11AM Tuesday, January 24 at The Lee Chapel, Sytsema Funeral Homes, Inc. 6291 S. Harvey St. 231-798-1100. VISITATION with the family will be from 5-8PM Monday. Memorial Contributions to the American Heart Association will be appreciated. Share memories with the family online at www.sytsemafh.com.
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