Jewel A. Tucker
Born in Wayne, Michigan, in 1927, Jewel grew up on farms in humble circumstances during the Great Depression. She attended the two-room Bunert School in Warren Township from grades 3 through 8. A smart girl, for three consecutive years from 1939-41 she earned a dictionary as A-Grade Champion in the Metropolitan Spelling Bee sponsored by The Detroit News.
She loved history, developed perfect Palmer Method penmanship, and was at the top of her class at Royal Oak High School. After high school, she worked as a payroll clerk at Fisher Body until she married Bill Tucker, the best decision of her life. Together they raised three daughters and built a successful business. As a homemaker, she volunteered at St. Lawrence Hospital in Lansing, becoming the jewelry buyer for the hospital gift shop – the virtue of her name.
Jewel was decades ahead of her time in recognizing the importance of diet in health, back when such people were called “health nuts.” Starting in the 1960s, she educated herself in natural healing through food, vitamins, minerals and supplements. She became a walking encyclopedia of nutritional knowledge, able to say what was needed for any ailment.
The oldest of five siblings, she outlived them all and was of sound mind until the end. Jewel was Bill’s willing First Mate as they spent 40 years cruising on their aptly named boat, “Love Affair”, through the Panama Canal, up the Intercoastal Waterway, through the Welland and Erie Canals to the Great Lakes, down the Mississippi, and throughout the Caribbean and the Bahamas. When they could no longer manage their own boat, they toured the world on cruise ships. The Tuckers enjoyed many happy family reunions at Mackinac Island over the years. Jewel is survived by daughters Beverly, Barbara, and Janet, six grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. Greatly loved by all her family, she is a true jewel.
There will be a private service. Condolences may be left for Jewel at www. EstesLeadley.com.
Arrangements are by the Estes-Leadley Greater Lansing Chapel.
