Obituary: Elizabeth ‘Beth’ Tucker

Elizabeth “Beth” Tucker, 80, of Grand Junction, passed away of natural causes before dawn on June 12. She was born to the late George and Sophie Foster on Dec. 28, 1932. in Craig, Colo.
Beth graduated from Moffat County High School in 1950 and attended Colorado State College of Education in Greeley. She was married from 1953-1978 to the late Vern Tucker, who worked in road construction. Together with their children they lived in towns on the Western Slope of Colorado, including Meeker, Craig and Dinosaur. They also lived as far away as Rossville, Kan. and spent several years together in Price, Utah.
As a mother, the words “mediocre” and “average” were not part of her vocabulary. She expected her children to do well in whatever they were interested in, whether it be academics, the arts or sports. While her children were growing up, she never missed a sporting event, a play or musical performance. She never missed a parent-teacher conference. She was a Cub Scout leader and taught girls sewing through 4-H. She taught her children the difference between right and wrong.
Beth followed several career paths during her lifetime, most notably being president for several years of the PTA for Reeves Elementary School in Price. She was instrumental in bringing the Head Start program to the school. It was under her direction that children from lesser financial means were fed breakfast as well as lunch in the school cafeteria.
While in Meeker, she served the Meeker Chamber of Commerce and was also deeply involved in Club 20, a group representing 20 Colorado counties who lobbied in Denver to protect the water rights of the Western Slope, ensuing that water would not be diverted to the Front Range. She was also, for a time, head of the Methodist’s Women’s Group.
It was in her later years, when she became the assistant manager at Courthouse Square, an apartment building for people with low incomes in Denver, that she truly found her calling. While her job description included collecting rents, overseeing the maintenance work of the seven-story building and bookkeeping, Beth went beyond her expected duties. She found (online) free or low-cost tickets for sporting events and theatrical productions for the residents of Courthouse Square.
She busied herself, on her own time, taking resident after resident to medical appointments, sporting events, shopping and productions dealing with the arts. She assisted residents in finding government or private funding for health concerns and income shortfalls.
When she retired, she moved to the Grand Junction area, living first at The Oaks and then spending her final years at Eagle Ridge.
Beth loved sports. Her favorite teams included the Broncos, the Rockies and Nuggets as well as the University of Colorado’s women’s basketball team and the Tennessee Lady Volunteers. She loved to crochet, knit and embroider. She loved music, a love she has passed on to all her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She loved to sing. She loved to dance.
She is gone too soon.
Beth is survived by: her sister, Edith May, 94, of Cheyenne, Wyo.; a brother, Donald Foster, 90, of Phoenix, Ariz.; her children, Norman Tucker, of Bloomfield, N.M., Gary Tucker of Los Angeles, Calif., Verleen Tucker of Steamboat Springs and Paul and Keith Tucker of Grand Junction; two grandsons, Roy and James Neil Brumback of Longmont and Lafayette; and two great-grandchildren, Dylan and Makenna Brumback of Longmont.
Beth’s Celebration of Life will be held at 11 a.m. on July 13 at the United Methodist Church in Meeker. A private interment will be held at Craig Cemetery in Craig.