William "Bill" Preston Tucker

Bill was born on September 23, 1932 in Louisville, Kentucky to Fred Gentry Tucker and Alice Gertrude Tucker, the third of five children born within seven years in a home that welcomed both family and friends. Sharing humorous stories was a part of daily life, as were visitors, such as the missionaries on leave, staying with the family. Bill carried these humanitarian qualities with him the rest of his life. He never met a stranger and always saw the positive side of people.

Bill graduated from Dupont Manuel High School, Louisville, Kentucky and went to Wake Forest University in Wake Forest, North Carolina. Drafted in 1952, he served two years in the Army during the Korean War. He returned to college the same year that the Wake Forest campus was relocated to Winston-Salem and always contended that he shot the last basket in Gore (Ledford) gymnasium. In his last two years, he enjoyed being on the basketball team, coached by Bones McKinney. Bill graduated from Wake Forest in 1957 and received a PhD in Organic Chemistry from the UNC-Chapel Hill in 1962. He was a National Institute of Health Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana in 1962-1963.

In 1963, Bill joined the faculty in the Chemistry Department at North Carolina State University. He did research on chemistry and the environment and won the Sigma Xi Outstanding Young Scientist Award in 1969. He became Director of Graduate Studies that year and served in the position until 1974. Bill’s first love was mentoring and teaching; he focused the rest of his career on helping others understand and love science with warmth and humor. He taught for over forty years and was elected to the Academy of Outstanding Teachers in 1974.

Bill served as Director of General Chemistry from 1982 to 1984 and Director of Undergraduate Studies until he retired. In 1986, he received the Alumni Distinguished Professor Award from the University. He also served on the Infrastructure Committee for the new First Year College and was Chair of the Task Force on the Freshman College. In addition, he served on the Advisory Committee for the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (MALS); the Bland Commission and Council on Undergraduate Education and the Provost’s Faculty Advisory Committee, focusing on Freshman Retention. He was also a faculty advisor and counselor to hundreds of students, whom he frequently personally assisted with buying books or finishing a semester.

In 1996, when he received the Holladay Medal of Excellence, the university publication stated that he was one of the best chemistry teachers in the country and initiated the William Preston Tucker Scholarship that year.

Bill’s natural optimism and core belief that we are all in this together made him a proud to be a Democrat. He was active in local, state and national politics. In 1972 he ran George McGovern’s presidential campaign in Raleigh and claimed to know most of the NC voters who supported the candidate. He was an early opponent of nuclear weapons, and proud supporter of women’s rights, civil rights and economic justice. In 2013, he participated in Moral Mondays at the NC General Assembly, protesting mean-spirited regressive legislation and volunteering to be arrested for trespassing. It was easy to spot his car in Raleigh with all the bumper stickers.

Bill always loved being physically active. From playing in Cherokee Park near home in Kentucky as a child to high school baseball, basketball at Wake Forest, tennis tournaments, running races to joining friends for golf at any links where he was invited. Whether it was hiking in the U.S., Europe, South America, New Zealand, Australia or Asia, Bill enjoyed sports and engaging in a vigorous life.

Bill loved talking about politics and sports almost as much as he loved playing them. Friends knew to look for him at Baxley’s Restaurant in the early years for breakfast. In his retirement, he could be found at Cup A Joe’s at the table reserved for him near the door and at the Player’s Retreat on Friday’ nights near a plaque honoring him as a member of the PR Hall of Fame.

In 1980, Bill was introduced by friends to Jane Wilsey May at a Chapel Hill tennis tournament. They married in 1981 and celebrated forty years of marriage in December, 2021. They traveled throughout Europe, South America, Canada, Australia, Asia, and North America, and enjoyed their combined families at their homes in Raleigh and western N.C., especially on holidays. During the pandemic online family communication continued every Tuesday.

Bill was predeceased by his first wife, Billie Simmons Tucker; and brothers Frederick Gentry Tucker and John Thomas Tucker from Kentucky. Survivors include his wife, Jane Wilsey Tucker; sister Pat Chatten (Bob); brother Ernest Tucker (Sandy); sisters-in-law Ann Wilsey Dufrane and Anne Stanley H. Tucker. Also surviving are the children, David Tucker; Liz Tucker May (Matt); Diane Tucker Charns (Alex); Will May (Abby); and John May (Bridgett), as well as special grandchildren: James May; WilloJane Charns; Leo Charns; Sarah May and Evie May, and many wonderful nieces and nephews.

A visitation will be held on Friday, June 17th from 5:30-7pm at Brown Wynne Funeral Home, 300 St. Mary’s St, Raleigh, NC, 27605. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, June 18th at 11:00 am in Christ Episcopal Church, Raleigh with a reception to follow in the Parish Hall, and a celebration of his life is planned for September.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Tucker Scholarship at North Carolina State University: https://www.go.ncsu.edu/tuckerscholarship (William P. Tucker Scholarship Endowment, NCSU College of Sciences, Attn: Wilma Daley; Campus Box 8118, Raleigh, NC 27695) or a charity of your choice.

Online condolences and more information at the Brown-Wynne website:

https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/raleigh-nc/william-tucker-10771639

Services provided by Brown-Wynne Funeral Home