- Brenda Gail Hyder Tucker was a daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, friend and business partner with her husband and the love of her life of 53 years, Walter “Rick” Tucker. Brenda Gail Hyder Tucker drew her first breath on earth on January 16, 1948, in Johnson City, Tennessee. She drew her last breath on earth on August 20, 2021, in Kingsport, Tennessee.
Breaths are like the individual threads that are a part of an intricately woven and beautiful tapestry - the story of a life. Brenda Tucker knew the Author and Artist of her life’s tapestry was God Himself - her Heavenly Father. She is with Him now. She knew her life was a gift from Him - and we, her rich collection of family and friends, know that she was a gift to us from Him.
Born as a gift to her parents first, Vearl and Polly Hyder, she was the oldest child and only daughter and she grew up with two brothers, Mike Hyder (Jonesborough, TN) and Jeff Hyder (Chesapeake, VA). They did what brothers and sisters do - share life together…all of it. Stories would erupt when they were all together of family memories, childhood bickering, the changes in the world as they came into adulthood and became parents, military service, family history (myths, lore and family legends, as well probably) politics, parenthood and the pain they uniquely shared together over losing first their father and then their mother. Some tears would fall, some sides would ache with laughter, and a lot of food would generally get consumed. Family is important - always. She grew up with that and created that value in her own family.
When Rick Tucker (Wytheville, VA) met Brenda Hyder in high school, it is fair to say that she took his breath away. In 1963, he said she was the prettiest thing he had ever seen. On August 20, 2021, when he kissed her last before her surgery, he said she was still the prettiest thing he had ever seen. After marrying in 1968, Rick finished college at the University of Tennessee in ROTC with Brenda by his side and then he had to leave her side to serve in Vietnam. He left her with twin daughters (Julia Lloyd, Richmond VA and Janet Fisher, Radford VA), and he came home to all of his girls to add one more girl to the family, Amanda Team (Richmond VA). They raised their family of girls together first in Johnson City, TN and then in Wytheville VA where the family moved in 1977 to open Tucker Pontiac Buick. Being a wife and mother made Brenda Tucker the happiest and she continued to do that with exceptional love and dedication as she joined Rick within the business to help him operate it until both retired in 2009 to their beloved home on Sand Mountain of 32 years that they built together.
Raising her three daughters (Julia Lloyd, Janet Fisher and Amanda Team) was her proudest accomplishment, a fact she shared easily and frequently with her many friends. When her own daughters became mothers, they knew they had an excellent role model and the best friend anyone could ever ask for to call every day for advice, stories about the children, struggles with work/life balance, or just moral support with life’s challenges. And they did call her - literally, every day. The exceptional love and dedication to her children was only magnified when she became a grandmother to Devin Fisher (Johnson City, TN), Ashley Fisher (Radford, VA), Marco Lloyd, Nico Lloyd, Elizabeth Lloyd, Ellery Team, and Gavin Team (all of Richmond VA). She liked to call her grandchildren, “The Magnificent Seven,” because she truly found them to be magnificent in every way. Every human being on the planet should be loved that much by a grandmother. It could change the world.
When you scroll through Brenda Tucker’s phone, or look through old calendars and address books, the tapestry of Brenda Tucker’s life included many, many friends. Many of these friends refer to Brenda as their best friend. This is because she made relationships matter to her and people felt like they truly mattered to Brenda because they did - they truly mattered to her. Deeply.
Most importantly, Brenda Tucker knew who Jesus was and made sure her children did. She and Rick prayed with her girls, took her girls to church, and generally helped them understand who they were by helping them understand who God is. They did the same for their own children, in turn. This is why we mourn the last of her breaths today and the last thread of the tapestry on her life on earth, but simultaneously celebrate as we know that she is with her Father in Heaven and we will see her again. Proverbs 31:28-29 speaks this truth about Brenda Tucker: “Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: ‘Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.’”
Funeral service will be held 6 P.M. Wednesday, August 25, 2021, at the Wytheville Baptist Church conducted by Reverend Tim Irving. The family will receive friends Wednesday from 4 P.M. until service time at the church. A graveside service will be held 11 A.M. Thursday, August 26, 2021, at Mountain Home Veterans Cemetery in Johnson City, TN.
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1948 - 2021 (73 years)
