PAULINE A. FRETZ TUCKER

Pauline A. Fretz Tucker, retired Registered Nurse and co-founder of Tucker Saddlery, Inc., passed away on August 22, 2015 at the age of 91 years. She was born in Bogard, Missouri in 1924, the third of six daughters born to Harry and Besse Fretz. The family later moved to Kansas City where Pauline graduated from Central High School in 1942. During WWII, Pauline entered nurses training at Trinity Lutheran Hospital in Kansas City. The last six months of training was in the Cadet Nurses Corp, working at the O’Reilly General Army Hospital in Springfield, Missouri. The hospital received injured soldiers from the war. One of her lasting memories was the celebration at the hospital when they heard the news that the war had ended in 1945. After WWII, Pauline took post graduate work at the Boston Lying-In Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. She specialized in obstetrics and worked for eight years at the Trinity Lutheran Hospital in Kansas City. In 1953, she married Kenneth Tucker, a WWII veteran who was working for the Lloyd A. Fry Roofing Company in Kansas City. The couple moved to Chicago where Kenneth was transferred by his employer. In Chicago, they added to their family with the birth of two sons, Kenneth Jr. and Steven. Later the family moved to St. Louis and then to Memphis in 1960 where Kenneth was the manager of the Fry Roofing plant. In Memphis, the family joined the former Whitehaven Presbyterian Church where Pauline was a faithful member for over forty years, serving in various capacities during that time. Most recently her membership was at the Providence Presbyterian Church in Southaven, Mississippi. Pauline enjoyed the community and friendships formed at Church. She lived out her faith by her love and care for others and generosity toward those in need. Working with her son, Steven, Pauline was Secretary of Tucker Saddlery, Inc. from 1978 to 1995 when she semi-retired from her daily role working in the business. The legacy of Tucker Saddlery, Inc . continues today in the company that she co-founded with her son in 1978. Pauline had many interests and was formerly a member of the Trinity Lutheran School of Nursing Alumni Association, the Whitehaven Book Club, the Whitehaven Bowling League, and the Green Acres Saddle Club. She enjoyed televised sports including the Memphis basketball teams and professional golf. She often reminisced that she had been a caddy for her Dad when he played golf in the 1930’s. Pauline was preceded in death by her husband of 59 years who passed away in 2012. She cared for him in their home through the final stages of his battle with Alzheimer’s disease. Through the years, Pauline kept a wonderful home for her family and is remembered as a loving wife, mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, sister and aunt by surviving family members. Those who mourn her loss include sons, Kenneth Tucker, Jr. and wife, Tracie of Germantown, Tennessee, Steven Tucker and wife, Cathy of Collierville, Tennessee; grandchildren Allison Tucker McCulley and husband, Shaun of Holly Springs, Mississippi, Benjamin Tucker of Oxford, Mississippi, and Abigail Tucker of Collierville, Tennessee; step- grandsonsm Mark Lentz II of Germantown, Tennessee and Kendall Lentz of Baltimore, Maryland; surviving sister, Julia Fretz of Rockford, Illinois, and numerous nieces, nephews and friends. Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday, August 26, at Forest Hill Funeral Home South, with internment to follow in Forest Hill Cemetery South. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorials be sent to the Trinity Lutheran School of Nursing Alumnae Scholarship Fund c/o Baptist-Trinity Lutheran Legacy Foundation, 6675 Holmes Road, Suite 470, Kansas City, MO 64131. Forest Hill Funeral Home, South (901)346-3250