TUCKER, William Clifton “Cliff”

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1927- 2025

Joy and sorrow can and do co-exist.  On January 30, 2025, Dad took his final snooze in his favourite chair, 2 months before his 98th birthday.  He was the oldest gentlemen at Sandalwood and was more than ready to give up that title.  He was ready to go and made no bones about it.

William Clifton (Cliff) Tucker was born in Dixie (Montreal), QC, March 24, 1927. He is predeceased by his beautiful wife Audrey of 69 years.  They had a wonderful, healthy life together, built on family, love and friendships, skiing, tennis, happy hours and dancing into their 90’s.

Left to treasure his memory are his cherished children: Debbie Tucker (Andy), Jeff Tucker (Laura), and Wendy Purcer (Tim), as well as his many beloved grandchildren. He was predeceased by his sister, Norma James. Cliff leaves behind the special relationship with his sister-in-law Carol Kroschel, always appreciating her phone calls, tennis talk and laughter, and his brother-in-law Mac James. He will be deeply missed by all who knew him.

Some of the many things that Cliff will be remembered for were his no-nonsense approach to all things, his sense of humour and his funny one-liners. He called a spade a spade and took care of business as he deemed fit.

Dad trained for the army, but the war ended before he was deployed.  He retired from Bell Canada in 1987 after 42 years of service, starting in Montreal then transferring and moving his family to St. Catharines, Ontario.

In Dad’s younger years, he was a humble but great hockey player.  His teenage claim to fame was getting to play a game in the Montreal Forum for a championship game, which humbly remembers that they lost! What a thrill for a kid from Dixie!

The Tucker family were lucky enough to camp from Chateauguay to PEI one year and Chateauguay to Vancouver another, stopping in Calgary to take in the Stampede, all in our homemade tent trailer.  We skied at Vallée Bleue for 3 winters with family friends in the 70’s.  With a style all his own, Dad always skied with a screwdriver in his back pocket, as it seemed there was always a kid waiting at the bottom to have something fixed.  Be it on the ski hill, the boat, the trailer or at home, there wasn’t much Dad couldn’t fix.

Mom and Dad enjoyed many years of retirement and loved the 24 snowbird winters they spent with their friends in Florida.  That’s when Dad found his tennis passion. Their summers were spent sailing on Lake Ontario and heading to Michigan for their annual Can-Am tennis gatherings with their Florida friends. Mom and Dad relocated to Kelowna 17 years ago.  Dad found out where the tennis courts were then found an apartment close by.  He quickly took responsibility for shovelling off the courts so they could play early in the spring and contacted the City to have a port-a-potty brought in.  Once a manager, always a manager.

A special thanks to ALL the staff at Sandalwood who loved and cared for Dad to the very end. He loved you all very much and appreciated that you knew exactly what he needed when he couldn’t get the words out.  Bring on the “Cliff Special” – grilled cheese, every day.  Dad so appreciated all the friends he had at Sandalwood as well.  He could never understand why people were so nice to him.  Isn’t that just like him?!

Thank you to Dr. Ketch for the many years you loved and cared for Dad so well.  Dad had great respect for you and truly felt loved by you.

Have a burger and a beer and raise your glass to Dad.  They didn’t come any finer.  Mom and Dad can finally jitterbug safely again.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to Kelowna General Hospital (KGH Foundation), Central Okanagan Hospice Association (COHA) or a charity of your choice.

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