Merlin Wesley Tucker
Marriages
Gladys Pauline Cooper - 1953
Burial Details
Obituaries
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 3D Obituary - July 3, 2016
Merlin Wesley Tucker
November 20, 1930 - June 29, 2016
Merlin Wesley Tucker, 85,
went to join family and
friends in heaven June 29,
2016.
Merlin was born in Olathe,
Colorado on November 20,
1930, to Ezra E. and Helen A.
Eggleston Tucker. He attended
Fairview School, Austin,
Colorado, and graduated from
high school, Delta, Colorado
in 1948. He served in the U. S. Army in Japan during the Korean
War from 1948-1952. He married Gladys Pauline Cooper in
1953. In September 2016, they would have been married 63
years.
Merlin and Gladys have two children, Steve Tucker of Fruita
and Cheryl Tucker Bennett (Tim) of Jacksonville, Florida; five
grandchildren, Torie Tucker of Fruita; Tanisha Tucker Kingsbury
(Shannon) of Bellevue, Michigan; Cooper Grimes of
Fruita; Katie Bennett of Denver, and Tyler Bennett of Sheridan,
Wyoming, and three great-grandchildren, Seth and Blake Kingsbury
and Caleb Bennett. He is survived by two sisters, Onalee
Tucker Horvath, Yuba City, California, and Lois Tucker
Bruton, Escondido, California. Merlin’s parents and sister, Mary
Jean Tucker Green, preceded him in death.
After his Army service, Merlin owned a Grand Junction gas station
where he met Gladys. He later worked on the Manhattan
Project as part of the Atom Bomb development at the Grand
Junction A.E.C. compound. He worked for the D&RGW Railroad
and retired as a Conductor. Merlin served on the United
Transportation Workers Union Legislative Board and was President
of Orchard Mesa Lions Club and Rio Grande Federal Credit
Union Board.
Services will take place on Tuesday July 5, 2016, at Callahan-
Edfast Mortuary. Visitation begins at 11:00 a.m. and service will
begin at 1:00 p.m. Burial to follow at Orchard Mesa Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations in Merlin’s
name to HopeWest Hospice (www.hopewestco.org). Friends
and family may leave tributes at www.callahan-edfast.
com/obituaries
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 8A Death Notice - July 4, 2016
Merlin Wesley Tucker, 85, of Grand Junction, died June 29,
2016, at HopeWest Care Center.
Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday at Callahan-Edfast
Mortuary, followed by a funeral service at 1 p.m. Burial will
follow at Orchard Mesa Cemetery.
He was a railroad conductor.
Survivors include his wife, Gladys; one son, Steven James of
Fruita; one daughter, Cheryl Ann Tucker Bennett of Jacksonville,
Florida; two sisters, Onalee Horvath of Yuba City, California, and
Lois Bruton of Escondido, California; five grandchildren; and three
great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions to HopeWest, 3090B North 12th St.,
Grand Junction 81506.
