Bettye E. Tucker

BETTYE ELIZABETH TUCKER (BUTLER), the daughter of the late Edwin Butler and the former and Lula Bell Sims, was born on June 16, 1928 in Cleveland, Ohio Edwin and Lula were blessed with six children, Bettye being the fourth. She departed this life on August 28, 2015 at the age of 87 Bettye was initially raised in the Bronx, New York. After her mother;'s early death, she moved with her family to Jersey City, New Jersey. Then at age 12 Bettye moved to Decatur, Georgia to live with her Aunt Cora Helen and uncle Mike (Livy) Killgo, After graduating from high school at the age of 15 she attended Spellman College in Atlanta, Georgia but then transferred to Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in Tuskegee, Alabama During her time there, she joined the Alpha Kappa Sorority and was selected as Miss Tuskegee, “BB as she was affectionately called graduated from Tuskegee in 1951 with a degree in Business and Industrial Sciences. Friendships Bettye developed while at Tuskegee have lasted a lifetime. It was also there that she met her future husband and love of her life, Alvin Tucker. After graduation, Bettye and Alvin were married on September 25, 1951. They had their first of five children in October of 1952. Alvin had enlisted in the Navy after graduation which meant Bettye took on the daunting task of becoming a Navy wife. with her strong will and high level of energy she embraced it fully. She maintained the household through a series of moves that generally took place every two years which meant changes to housing, schools, friends, etc. she did this and managed to keep it enjoyable for the entire family. Bettye and Alvin settled in Joppatowne, Maryland when Alvin retired from the Navy. Betttye participated in various community activities and was an active member of Holy Spirit Catholic Church for over 45 years. In her later years, she was very active with her local AARP group. All who knew Bettye Tucker will remember her for her beautiful smile, sense of family, strength, intellect, humor, and charitable wonderful outgoing nature. While she will be dearly missed, we should all celebrate a life well lived and know that Bettye has moved on to an even better life, her eternal life, in which she is reunited with Alvin. Betttye was preceded in death by her beloved husband Alvin and her five brothers and sisters: Edwin, James, Helen, Lois, and Fernando. She leaves to celebrate her memory, and carry her spirit in their hearts, five children; Alvin Jr., Ralph, Micheal, Elizabeth, and Barbara; two sons in laws, Donald and Aundra; six grandchildren, Alvin III, Lyndsay, Sydney, Tyler, Azariah (Lauren), and Micheal and a host of loving relatives and devoted friends.

Tributes

Bettye E. Tucker

June 16, 1928 - August 28, 2015