Terry Dennis Stuck

Terry Dennis Stuck was born March 1, 1939 in Illinois the son of M. B. and M. Ione Stuck. Terry was a 1957 graduate of Traverse City Senior High School. He received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business from Michigan State University, and his Master's Degree in Marketing from Wayne State University. Terry was a member of Bayview Yacht Club in Detroit. Terry enjoyed skeet shooting, duck and deer hunting, he was also a Mason. Much of his time was spent on his sail boat Baron, a J-29. When the notice went out that Terry had passed away, one of people that sent along their condolences offered the following: "I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving; to reach the port of heaven, we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it – but we must sail, and not drift, not lie at anchor." [Oliver Wendell Holmes – 1858] Terry was an avid sailor, with over 50 years sailing and owning more than 14 different boats. He was highly competitive to the degree of being "season champion" for several years while sailing the great lakes and Gulf of Mexico. In 2009 the Baron crew won the Detroit Regional Yacht-Racing Association IRC Overall; St. Clair Trophy; 'A' Course Overall; and the "Commodore Herbert J. Mainwaring" Trophy. Some might describe Terry as a "force to be reckoned with". He was energetic, mischievous, and a person that made friendships that lasted a lifetime. His laugh was contagious and he enjoyed the art of storytelling down to the minutest detail. We will miss his kind heart and generous nature. He grew up in Traverse City and has remained in constant contact with several of his childhood friends that include Gary Beck, Bill Gray and Bob McCall to name just a few. He also had close ties with some of the people he worked with and later hunted with, such as Roger Warner. I'm sure they could all share some heartfelt stories and have a good laugh. In his early corporate life Terry immersed himself in his work. His first position out of college was with Chrysler Corporation where he was fast-tracked and oversaw some key aspects of quality improvement at the plants. His constant exposure to noise at the plants injured his hearing and that caused him a lot of hearing problems later in his life. His experience at Chrysler led him take a position at a couple of other manufacturing firms before he wound up at Phil Crosby Associates in Florida. While at Crosby, he taught quality improvement techniques and worked hand in hand with company staff at Harley-Davidson, ThyssenKrupp, General Motors and several other large manufacturing concerns, to help them identify areas for improvement in their organizations. When he returned to Michigan, he set up his own company, The Performance Company and dabbled with a few accounts in the Detroit area while working primarily on his boat. His last boat was the Baron. When Terry first saw the boat it was in terrible shape. There is a layer of balsam wood between the inner and outer skin of a J29 and a large portion of that had gotten water logged. Terry spent the better part of a year tearing out the insides of the boat and reworking it to bring it back to life. Then each winter for the last several years, Terry and his brother Randy would go down to Edison Yacht Club, where the boat was in storage, to work on the boat and get it ready for the upcoming season. When repairs were needed, the two worked tirelessly to get the boat back in shape and continue on with the season's racing. Terry built up an excellent crew over the years and their loyalty and professionalism as a team earned them a reputation as one of the most competitive crews on the lake. Terry is survived by his superior wife Jill. He was the beloved father of Karin Winchester, Gregory (Tammi), Brian, and Tracy Stuck; the dear brother of Randy (Colleen) Stuck, and step-father of Gregory Mathewson (Jackie) and Kristin Mathewson. Terry was the loving grandfather of Kayla, Kyleigh, Kameryn, Ami Fowlkes, Julia and Jenny, and great-grandfather of Tyler and Nicholas. A memorial service will take place Sunday, October 23rd at Bayview Yacht Club, 100 Clairpointe, Detroit 48215 from 4-6pm. The family has requested memorial contributions be directed to the American Heart Association.