Dorothy Jean Tucker

Dorothy Jean Cauthron Tucker died June 3, 2017, in Hot Springs, Ark. Dot, as she was known to her friends, was born on November 3, 1930, in Booneville, Ark., to Charles Cauthron and Della Mae Wisely Cauthron. She was the third of five children, and always took great pride in being a part of one of the pioneering families in Booneville. Dot and her family moved to Little Rock, where she graduated from Little Rock High School. Following graduation, Dot married Jack A. Tucker in 1949 and moved to Memphis, Tenn., where she worked to help support her daughter Janis, born in 1951, and to get her husband through Memphis State University, and subsequently, the University of Tennessee-Memphis College of Dentistry. Always a natural beauty, Dot was selected to be a member of the Court of the Crown and Sceptre at the Cotton Carnival in Memphis during her time there. Shortly after the birth of her son Jack in 1954, Dot and her family moved to several Air Force Bases until returning to Little Rock where her son Robert was born in 1958. Although she was diagnosed as having Multiple Sclerosis in 1963, she led a vigorous and active life as office manager and bookkeeper for her husband's dental practice, not to mention running a household and trying to keep three rambunctious children in line. Dot was active in the Arkansas Dental Auxiliary and numerous civic volunteer groups including manning the telephone lines for A.E.T.N. televised fundraisers and other groups. She loved spending time with her dear friends Dorothy Schwander and the late Loraine Fletcher. Dot enjoyed taking road trips with her sister Charlie Mae, and occasionally suffered from bouts of leadfoot which sometimes resulted in conferences with the local constabulary. She always attended dance and piano recitals, as well as scholastic and athletic events in which her children participated, which unfortunately included more than a few trips to the Principal's Office for her sons. Dot was a loving and steadfast mother to her children and provided a stable and solid foundation for them. This is not to say she would not correct her children when appropriate, which instruction included small branches from various shrubbery around the house, and on rare occasions, a stick of firewood, a golf putter, or any other blunt instrument which happened to be handy. Her sons were rather large. Dot was raised in the Baptist Church, and later became a member of Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church and St. James United Methodist Church in Little Rock. She moved to Hot Springs and joined First United Methodist Church where she was a member until she passed away. While in Hot Springs, Dot loved working as a member of the St. Joseph's Hospital, now CHI St. Vincent, Volunteer Auxiliary for 17 years in the gift shop and at the information desk until her health prevented her from continuing. Dot was preceded in death by her parents and her sisters Charlie Mae Naylor and Jane Cone. She is survived by her children, Janis E. Hill of Ovilla, Texas, Jack A. Tucker Jr. (Bobbie), of Little Rock, and Robert P. Tucker, of Hot Springs; her brother, Dr. James Cauthron (Murphy) of Ashdown, and her sister, Helen Creed (Gerald) of Jackson, La.; grandchildren, Mallory A. Horton of Ovilla Texas, Dorothy E. Luna (Jeff) of Golden ,Colo., Elizabeth L. Tucker of Little Rock, Ark., and Martha E.T. Hill of Ovilla, Texas; and great-grandsons, Nathaniel Chicas of Tulsa, Okla., and Noah Luna, of Golden, Colo. A celebration of Dot's life will be 2 p.m. Friday at Caruth-Hale Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. David Moseley officiating. Guests may register at www.caruth-hale.com.