September 14, 1933 - June 10, 2019
Born in Inman, S.C., Woody Tuck was a true personality from the second he arrived. He believed in fun, adventure, laughter, never taking himself too seriously and being kind to others.
While working as a Station Agent for Southern Railways in 1951, he met his future wife, Mary Ann West, who was attending Spartanburg General Hospital School of Nursing. Once he saw her, it was true love. He never looked back.
Fiercely patriotic, he enlisted in the Navy in 1952. He was Aviation Machinist Mate at Naval Air Station, Corpus Christi, TX. Mary joined Woody in Texas after she graduated, and worked in the base hospital, where the first of their four children was born.
Woody’s outgoing personality and friendliness made him a natural salesman. Throughout his lifelong sales career, he had territories that spanned North America, and he became a road warrior.
But wherever he went, he never met a person he couldn’t connect with. Mary would often remark that “he never met a stranger.” He was the epitome of the saying “six degrees of separation,” because he was able to find a connection with every new person he met, and make them fast friends.
Woody and Mary loved to travel. Throughout his business career, they lived in 6 different southern states. Many of their vacations were spent visiting places like Canada, California, New York, and the entire American West as well as more exotic locales such as the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Japan, and multiple European countries. His favorite trip was to Australia, where they made many enduring friendships.
His love of travel inspired his oldest daughter (Linda) to want to go to places she had never been before, and his love of country led both Linda, and son Bob, to join and retire from the military. Oldest son Michael worked at a business that Woody co-owned in east Tennessee. And his incredible ability to connect with others inspired his younger daughter, Brenda, to pursue a career in the Marketing field, where knowing how to successfully connect with people is a requirement.
A natural-born “people person,” he spent his life quietly helping both friends and strangers, and was always ready to extend a helping hand to others. He was a man who loved God and tried to walk in the ways of the Lord. Woody Tuck was truly one of a kind. He made the world a better place.
He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 65 years, Mary Ann West Tuck. He is survived by daughter, Linda T. Shiraishi (David); daughter, Brenda T. Bolles (Mike); son, Michael D. Tuck; son, Robert W. Tuck (Debbie); granddaughter Farra Emma Sue Tuck; grandson Robert C. Tuck; and great-grandson, Christian C. Tuck.
Visitation will be held on Friday, June 14, 2019 from 10:00 am-12:00 noon at Victory Baptist Church, 1777 Tate Lane, Mt. Juliet, TN. A memorial service celebrating Woody’s life will follow from 12:00 noon – 1:00 p.m. Interment will be at Hermitage Funeral Home & Memorial Gardens at 535 Shute Lane, Old Hickory, TN.
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