Edward John Tucker

January 14, 1939 - February 17, 2025

In loving memory ~

John Tucker passed away on Monday, February 17 at his home on Vancouver Island, after 86 full and meaningful years.

Born in London, England, he immigrated with his parents to Canada at age 9 and lived in the Mission area until graduation. He remained ever the Anglophile who was deeply interested in his family ancestry. Through detailed research traveling to England over the years, he traced and documented his lineage back to the 1700s and loved sharing his discoveries with his family.

John was a skilled man of many hobbies - he was "all in" when he found something he was passionate about. He started training for his first marathon at age 45 (and quit smoking for good to accomplish it!), explored the West Coast Trail and Bowron Lakes with his son and daughter, and became an avid golfer and pickleball player in the years that followed. He was well-known for his carpentry skills, which began with him building his parents' kitchen cupboards in his early 20s and progressed into many home renovations and various cherished gifts over the years for his Kinsmen gang, a rocking horse for his young grandchildren to open on Christmas morning, and a bar for his beloved club "The Hole in the Wall". He was also a talented artist, and painted landscapes of his views on Vancouver Island as well as recreated special family photos.

John ("Papa" or "Tuck" as he was also known) was a loving father, grandfather, and husband to his late wives Marian (married 42 years) and Donna (married 17 years). He will be remembered for so many things - his kindness, his sharp dressing (especially his signature hats), his sense of humor, his love of listening to "Lady in Red" in his classroom as a high school teacher, and perhaps most of all, his passion for improvement and always doing the right thing.

A memorial will be held at Yates Cemetery in Parksville at 2pm on Friday, May 2.