Stanley Erle Tucker passed away peacefully, while reading a book, at his home on Easter Sunday. The youngest of eight children to John and Jessie Beitikofer Tucker, Stan was born in Santa Barbara on June 25, 1928. Attending local schools, he was raised in a loving household to be a confident, hands on person.
His passion was auto mechanics, but he also learned early in adolescence how to lay plumbing, wire homes, and conduct any manner of household repairs. He helped his father pour foundations for relocated houses on the family acreage on the Mesa, between Fellowship Rd and Meigs Rd. during the early years of WWII.
At the age of 16, Stan worked the summer in the Boeing factory in Santa Barbara, before taking a sabbatical from Santa Barbara H.S. On his 17th birthday he enlisted in the Merchant Marines, and before the summers end, was in the Pacific on an oiler, sailing around the world. He and his close buddies from Santa Barbara saw post war Japan, the Middle East and the Mediterranean.
Not many 17 yr. olds can boast of steering a 500 ft ship through moonlit waters, with no running lights, to avoid being detected by Japanese subs the final weeks of the war. This adventure of a lifetime was just the beginning, as he finally returned home to start a new chapter of his life. Stan graduated SBHS in 1947. He then join a fishing boat crew, working the Santa Barbara Channel waters. Back then, they rigged for whatever was “running in season,” deploying crab pots, fish nets, fishing lines, and even occasionally harpooning swordfish from the prow.
For many years, Stan raced motorcycles locally. He gave up racing at an early age to focus on his family and career. But he maintained lifelong friendships and met weekly at Harrys Plaza with several surviving members of the Santa Barbara Motorcycle club.
At the age of 20, Stan started his 37 year career with So Cal Gas Co, rising from ditch digger to garage mechanic to lead mechanic in just a few years. In his 30’s he was transferred to an office job at the So Cal Gas Patterson office complex. Soon he was promoted to Head of the Tri Counties fleet maintenance. He rewrote their entire maintenance program, overseeing the purchase and maintenance of every motor driven vehicle, from backhoes to field trucks to executive sedans.
Stan was an avid golfer, and enjoyed many outdoor activities. He designed and built a collapsible camping trailer, taking the family on several memorable outings to Yosemite, Kings Canyon and the Sequoias.
He retired at age 57, in 1986, with a pension, a stock portfolio and a paid off home in Hope Ranch annex. He approached retirement with the same intelligent, logic driven work ethic that he applied to his work. Stan hand crafted dozens of high quality musical instruments from scratch over the ensuing years. He turned down many high dollar offers for them. Instead, asking only for the cost of materials, he supplied instruments to several well known musicians, two of whom appeared on the Grand Old Opry. His reason for refusing to profit was simple, saying “I didn’t want to go into business. That would take the fun out of it.” He was self taught, yet attained the highest level of woodworking imaginable.
Stanley Tucker will be remembered for his unflinching sense of ethics and justice, and his utter lack of pretense or self promotion. He taught others by example, never preaching, and lived each day with joy and purpose.
With his passing, Stanley was preceded by his wife of 66 years, Marion Doris Kapp Tucker in 2015, and his 7 siblings, Robert, John, Helen, Viola, Mary, Glen & Kenneth. He is survived by his son Michael Tucker and daughter Linda Tucker. Services will be private.
