Jody Dee Tucker

Jody D. Tucker, 48, of Benton, passed away on March 10, 2020, after a courageous battle with cancer. He was born October 28, 1971, in Little Rock, to Freddy and Gladys Tucker of East End. He was preceded in death by his grandparents; Fred and Freda Tucker of Hensley, and James Elmer and Marlene Thomas of Little Rock, his brother, James F. Tucker, of Little Rock, and his Father-in-Law, Daniel Horton, of Hot Springs. Jody is survived by his parents; his wife of 17 years, Jennifer Horton Tucker; his children, Trevor and Sarah Tucker; and several aunts and uncles: Jim Thomas (Betty), Buck Tucker (Debbie), Lynn Harp (Charles), Rhonda Johnson (Marty), Judy McLawhorn and Jamie Tucker, as well as numerous cousins. Jody graduated from Sheridan High School in 1990 and attended UALR where he received a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Sciences with a minor in Biology and was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity, like his brother. His fraternity brothers were a huge part of his life, and became his lifelong friends. After graduation he decided to pursue engineering and enrolled at the University of Arkansas where he graduated cum laude, with both a BS and MS in Chemical Engineering in 2001. Jody began his career with Almatis, Inc., formerly Alcoa, on February 1, 2001, and served as Process Engineer, Process and Technical Manager, and Production Manager. Through his work, he traveled to Germany and China, and worked with some amazing people from all over the world. His career was one of the accomplishments of which he was most proud, and he was a self-made man. Jody was an avid outdoorsman, fisherman, hiker, kayaker, and backpacker, and his hobbies included amateur photography and backyard astronomy. He once spent nine days in the Gila Wilderness of New Mexico with his buddies and only a backpack. He loved hiking the trails of Arkansas with his buddy, Greg Overturf, and going fishing with his faithful companion, Tootsie Roll, a miniature dachshund. Earlier in life, Jody was a dedicated practitioner of the martial arts, earning black belts in two different styles of karate. He was a kind and curious soul who loved WWII history, time with his family, and spending countless hours after chemo treatments watching historical documentaries. In 2018, he traveled with his family to Omaha Beach, Normandy, France, to experience the sites of D-Day. A visitation is scheduled for Thursday from 6-8 p.m., at Ashby Funeral Home, 108 W. Narroway St., Benton, Ark. 72015. A memorial service will be held Saturday at 10:00 a.m., at First United Methodist Church in Benton, 200 N. Market Street. Cremation services are provided by Ashby Funeral Home. Honorary pallbearers are Paul Cummings, Scott Holt, Chris Horton, Mike Horton, Dinesh Moorjani, Greg Overturf, and Jason Tannehill. The family wishes to express its sincere appreciation to Dr. Rangaswamy Govindarajan, M.D., and his staff at the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, with special thanks to Nurse Practitioner Casey Butler in the UAMS Critical Decision Unit. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation (agff.org). On line guestbook at www.ashbyfuneralhome.com.