John William Tucker

John W. Tucker, 76, passed away unexpectedly Friday, February 25, 2022.

John was born March 29, 1945 to the late Jesse and Billie Jean Tucker, in Akron Ohio, and was the oldest of three children. He grew up in Firestone Park, attending Firestone Park Elementary School, then Roswell Kent Middle School, and finally Garfield High, from where he graduated in 1963. He graduated from Case University in 1967, two weeks before Case merged with Western Reserve university becoming the college now known as Case Western Reserve University.

In his youth he was in the Boy Scouts, ultimately becoming an eagle scout, and was privileged to attend the Boy Scout World Jamboree which was hosted by and in the Philippines at Mount Makiling, Los Baños, Laguna in 1959. There were several options that were available to the scouts who attended the Jamboree, one of which was a trip around the world. John was given the opportunity to take advantage of this. He credited this experience with seeding his lifelong love of travel, and quite possibly his ultimate international career path.

After graduating from college, he joined the Peace Corps as a volunteer and was stationed in Thailand from 1967 – 1970 as part of a Malaria Eradication group. He kept in touch with many of his friends and colleagues in the Peace Corps for the rest of his life.

While he was in the Peace Corps, he was recruited by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), where he ultimately found his life's work until he retired in 2000 after a combined total of 32 years between the Peace Corps and USAID. After his time with the Peace Corps, John spent most of his time in Laos and Thailand as a Refugee Relief and Resettlement officer, working with and helping process Lao refugees for placement all over the world. John once estimated that he probably personally interviewed close to 100,000 people for placement or relocation from refugee camps up until approximately 1980, and advocated for increased quotas to get more people safely out of what was at that time a war zone. As John spoke both Thai and Lao languages fluently, he actually kept in touch with many of the refugees he helped process for much of the remainder of his life, many of whom credit him for not just their survival, but for there being an American Lao Community at all. Out of the 12 years that John spent in Southeast Asia, he spent his first 3 years in Thailand as a Peace Corps Volunteer and his last five years seconded to the State Department. In between, he spent time in the Philippines and Guam and 3 ½ years in Laos.

In May 1975, John was one of 15 USAID employees placed under house arrest in Laos for nine days by student demonstrators.

Towards the late 1980s John spent 3 years in the Sinai Region doing among other things work for Voice of America, before moving on to Pakistan and Afghanistan, where he served from 1989 to 1994. He ultimately returned to the US full time in 1995, and served USAID stateside until his retirement in 2000. He returned to his family home in Akron, Ohio in 2006 and lived there the rest of his life. In his final years, he liked being around his "adopted" family. John enjoyed traveling and having cookouts with the family.

He was predeceased by his parents Jesse and Billie Jean in 1981 and 1990 respectively, his brother Jeff (1951-2015) and his sister Kim (1959-1982). His main legacy is in the memory of those who he helped and dedicated his life to serving, and the many friends he made, and friendships maintained until the last years of his life. John's giant generous heart left an indelible mark on every person whose life he touched. He will be greatly missed.

John once said, "I have no regrets about not becoming a doctor, my first career choice. I've been involved in some of the most exciting problems in a very important part of the world." Yes, John dedicated his life to helping solve "some of the most exciting problems" in several parts of the world and the world is better because of him. May he rest in eternal peace.

Friends may call Friday, March 11 from 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM at the Anthony Funeral Homes, 1990 S Main St, Akron, OH 44301 where a service will be held at 1:30 PM. Interment at Greenlawn Memorial Park will follow. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the family c/o Anthony Funeral Home to help with the final expenses.