WINDSOR, Vt. – Evelyn M. Tucker passed away unexpectedly at the age of 97 at the Cedar Hill Nursing Home in Windsor, Vt., on Oct. 15, 2023. She was born on Aug. 14, 1926, to Walter and Saimi (Nortunen) Syria on the family farm in Mount Holly, Vt., where she grew up.
She graduated from Black River Academy in Ludlow, Vt., and married Oliver F. Tucker Jr. in 1944, raising five children. She was a member of the United Church of Ludlow, where she sang in the church choir for several years. She greatly loved family and country, and an important daily ritual wherever she was living was raising and lowering the American flag. She loved animals, and was devoted to her cats Muffy and Misty.
After divorcing, she moved to Florida, due in part to her love of the ocean and beach. She spent the greater part of the next 30 years in Daytona, Fla. It was there that she met the love of her life William “Bill” McClain. Eventually they relocated for a time to Hilton Head, S.C., where they opened “Evelyn’s Treasures,” a boutique gift shop. They spent many happy years traveling in the United States, the Virgin Islands, and Europe. When Bill’s health declined she devotedly cared for him until his death in 2002, after which she returned to Vermont to live with her daughter Barbara and son-in-law Ross in Chester, Vt.
She was predeceased by her parents Walter and Saimi (Nortunen) Syria, first husband Oliver F. Tucker Jr., her life partner William “Bill” McClain, son David W. Tucker, and son-in-law Ross A. Johnston. She is survived by sons Barry O. Tucker and wife Kathryn of Rockingham, Vt., and Joseph P. Tucker and wife Bonnie, of Ludlow, Vt.; daughters Barbara Johnston of Chester, Vt., and Nancy Lynch and partner Bill Dudley, of Shrewsbury, Vt.; sister Sylvia (Syria) Smith and husband Edward of Mount Holly; 10 grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren; as well as several nieces and nephews.
A graveside service will be held at Pleasant View Cemetery in Ludlow, Vt., on Saturday, Oct. 28, at 1 p.m., with a reception to follow at the Johnston residence in Chester.
In lieu of flowers, please donate to the charity of your choice.
Arrangements are under the direction of The Davis Memorial Funeral Home at 99 Summer Street, Springfield, Vt. www.davismemorialchapel.net/obituary/evelyn-tucker.