Mayo M. Tucker, Sr., 92, of Tifton died Monday, December 12, 2005, at Tift Regional Medical Center. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, December 14, 2005, at Eastside Baptist Church. Rev. Eddie Allen and Rev. Calvin Bob will officiate with burial to follow in Tift Memorial Gardens. Pallbearers will be Marc Mercer, Zane Grace, James Scarberry, Troy Hobbs, Ernie Iler, Aubrey Iler, Evan Hobbs, Patrick Willis and Gary Pitts. Honorary pallbearers will be Royce Jones, Roy Jackson, Hollis Flanders, Bob Laster, Ray Parson, Roy Jackson, Jr., Doug Bowen, DeVaughn Harris, the First John Sunday School Class of Eastside Baptist Church, the D. C. Rainey and Tom Matthews Sunday School Classes of Northside Baptist Church and Coach Gene Brodie's coaching staff. The family will receive friends on Tuesday, December 13, 2005, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Bowen-Donaldson Home for Funerals.
Mr. Tucker was born on April 28, 1913 in Acree and was the son of O. E. Tucker and Fannie Mayo Tucker, both deceased. He was also preceded in death by one brother, B. F. Tucker and three sisters, Hermine Thompson, Sarah Brookshire and Frances McDonald. He was the retired owner of Tifton Roofing and Sheet Metal for 55 years, a member of Eastside Baptist Church and a former deacon and Sunday School teacher of Brookfield Baptist Church, Northside Baptist Church and Eastside Baptist Church. He was a veteran of the United States Navy and served in the National Guard for 15 years. He served as a Navy Seabee during World War II in the South Pacific and was a member of the Georgia Cattlemen's Association and a founding member of the Alapaha Baptist Church, Eastside Baptist Church and Lauderdale Baptist Church in Lauderdale, Mississippi. He built steeples for Brookfield Baptist Church, Eastside Baptist Church, First Baptist Church, Northside Baptist Church, Alapaha Baptist Church and the First United Methodist Church, among others. He loved sports, the Tift County Blue Devils, the Georgia Bulldogs and the Atlanta Braves. He was a former member of the Tift County High Athletic Boosters.
Mr. Tucker is survived by his wife, Elna Varnam Tucker of Tifton; one son and daughter-in-law, Mayo and Lori Tucker of Tifton; two daughters and sons-in-law, Mary Ellen and Joe Mercer of Albany and Cindy and Don Milner of Tallahassee, Florida; seven grandchildren, Marc Mercer, Jolie Grace and her husband, Zane, Tarah Scarberry and her husband, James, Kellie Tucker, Cody Tucker, Curt Milner and Clint Milner; and seven great grandchildren.