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************************************* Arthur Wilson "Bob" Tucker (1914-2006) *************************************
Bob was proceeded in death by his wife of 52 years, Fern Delores Tucker, on June 7th. He will be cremated and his ashes will be interred next to hers in Bloomington, Illinois. A memorial gathering will be held from 4-6PM on Saturday, November 11 at the Calvert-Metzler Funeral Home in Bloomington, IL. The 2007 North American Science Fiction Convention (NASFiC) in Collinsville. Illinois will be dedicated to Bob.
"Tales of Bob" Weblog. ----------- Tonight, I lost a father, grandfather, mentor, teacher, friend... I found out while performing toastmaster duties at the Archon banquet, and getting through the evening might have been one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. As Keith indicated, there were a lot of shell-shocked people. I met Bob in 1974, the year after my real father died. Tucker somehow stepped into that role, filling a void my real father never had. He adopted Diana as one of his "grand-daughters," but between us, he was "Dad." In those days, and well into the eighties, he came to Kansas City regularly for one or two conventions, and always spent a week with us. He hated fried chicken. We sat on my porch sipping bourbon and smoking cigars. I've never smoked, except with Bob. Bob helped me sell my first novel. Aware that it was on David Hartwell's desk at Pocket/Timescape, Bob took me as his guest to the Timescape party at Denvention II and introduced me to David. But before the party, he told me that he thought David was gay, so I should wear my tightest jeans. I did. Later, David took me into the suite's bathroom, which he was using as an office, to talk about my novel, FROST. Tucker stood guard outside the bathroom door. We were sharing a room with Bob at Minicon when when the check arrived for my next two novels. Diana and Bob surprised me with the news - and a magnum of quite decent champagne, which we proceeded to consume. I escorted him around the Queen Mary for a weekend the year SFWA named him Author Emeritus. That was truly a father-son weekend, and a memory I'll treasure. And when we launched the SF Hall of Fame, I made sure he was included. He deserved it. During my cancer, Bob and Fern sent us a sizable check to help with medical expenses, and he called regularly to offer what support he could. Later that year, at the bleakest moment of my battle, I pulled it together to attend Contraception. He and I had one of the longest, most intimate talks we'd ever had. Although a lot of people knew Bob Tucker as a fan and frequent con-goer, many people had forgotten Wilson Tucker the writer. Privately, that irked him. He was a fine mystery writer and a fine writer of science fiction. Damon Knight called his novel, THE LONG, LOUD SILENCE, one of the "perfect" novels in the genre. He won a John W. Campbell Memorial Award for THE YEAR OF THE QUIET SUN. Tucker has one final story, "Dick and Jane Go to Mars" languishing in Ellison's THE LAST DANGEROUS VISIONS. He was a fan, a writer, a gentleman, a husband and father, but most of all he was one of the kindest men I've ever known.
Best, ----------- Bob Tucker was one of the first people I met back in the early `70s when I first started going to conventions as a teenager. He was one of the first writers to give me practical advice on craftsmanship -- "always do your research" was what I carried away from my talks with him -- and he also taught me how to eat with chopsticks and the proper way to drink whiskey. And all that before I turned 18. Later in life, when I returned to the SF scene as a newly-minted writer, our relationship subtly changed. Although he remembered me as a rambunctious kid, he now treated me as both an adult and also as a colleague, and by example showed me how to comport myself in public as a professional. Although he loved to party -- his ability to stay up all night astonished me -- he was always a gentleman, and in his company I learned how to do the same. And he was a terrific writer. That should never be forgotten. *The Year of the Quiet Sun* is one of the two or three best time-travel novels ever written;*The Lincoln Hunters* and *Ice and Iron* are also high-water marks of that sub genre. *Time-X* was one of the first collections I read when I was a kid, which was how I recognized the name "Wilson Tucker" when I first met him. When I left St. Louis and moved back to New England, I stopped seeing him quite so often. It's been many years since we last spoke. I'm sorry now that I didn't have another chance to talk to him ... but somehow, irrationally, I figured he'd always be around. But I think he always will be, at least in the memory of those of us who knew him as a friend. -- Allen Steele ----------- My second convention was ConQuesT 16 in 1985. Starting at the pre-convention party, I started hearing about a wonderful man who was not attending the convention, Bob Tucker. By the end of the weekend, I had the impression that this Tucker was one of the most important facets of Science Fiction Fandom. Bob attended ConQuesT 17 and I finally got to meet him. He lived up to his billing: funny, charming, the center of whatever room he was in. All without trying to be. Following that convention, I sought out a couple of his books. The first that I tried was THE LINCOLN HUNTERS and it is still my favorite. The next year, Tucker was back, and (much to my surprise!) he remembered me. Quite a feat considering how many people sought Bob's attention at the convention. In future years, I acquired and read copies of all of Bob's novels and some of his shorter works and fan fiction. I've enjoyed them all and re-read 1 or 2 each year. During a trip to Europe in 1988, I was delighted to find a German language edition of Die Lincoln-Jäger in a small bookstore in Vienna, and thanks to the internet, in recent years I have found foreign editions of many of his works. My Tucker books fill two shelves next to my desk, along with an autographed bottle of Beam's Choice and more recently an empty bottle of Beam's which is an award for fannish excellence named the "Tucker Award." Over the years, I sat with Tucker and listened to his many stories at dozens of conventions. I never tired of hearing the same story, but then it was never told quite the same way twice. For that matter, Bob often said, "Never let the truth stand in the way of a good story." In recent years, Bob was no longer able to travel, but he and Fern welcomed me into their home many times. I cherish each of those visits, and can't quite believe that there will never be another one. Keith Stokes ----------- I take these moment in the early hours of the morning to write of the passing of one of the unique human beings that I have known during my lifetime. I am only a sometime sci if fan. What I am is a past President of Local 193 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Motion Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts. When I first started working with the local in 1973, Wilson was the President. I was not a projectionist but a stagehand. And for any that don't know Wilson started as a prop man at the Majestic Theater in Bloomington, Illinois. Being a stagehand was really a first love other than a writer (and I think the writer would naturally always have precedent}. As such the mentor side in both professions appears to have been a wondrous gift for he he taught many of us the the love of the work. He was the definition of the word Raconteur. He was of course my Senior but called me "Dad" but that of course was his way. Now a short anecdote. At several Labor Day Parades, at which Wilson attended, we would stroll into a tavern at nine o"clock in the morning. Wilson would order a shot of Beam's Choice, Light up a cigar, Down the shot, and say those immortal word "Smooooooooth"!!! Tom Weber
Updated October 27, 2006
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