A few years ago, when ill health forced John Tucker to withdraw from service as shepherd here, our elders presented him with a framed verse from 3 John: “I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in truth.”  I know I’ll spend years reminding myself and others of John’s example, but I have no better tribute to offer on this page than this piece from Bill Tucker, read at John’s memorial last Wednesday.  I thank Bill for his permission to use it here.

For those whose memories of Dad have only come from recent years, I would like to give one example of why those of us who have known him longer think so highly of him.

Back in the mid to late 70’s, Dad used to pick up a man named James Watts to take him to church services and also help him financially.  James liked to come to services and Dad faithfully picked James up in Georgetown South.  Sometimes I rode with Dad either to pick James up at his home on the way to church or to take him home after church and unfortunately the most distinguishing characteristic of James to me at that age was that he smelled bad.  I’m ashamed to say that I even joined in making fun of James, but Dad kept giving James rides in his little, un-air-conditioned Volkswagen Beetle.

I recently had an opportunity to serve in the same way when a man came to our church in Tulsa who had just been baptized but had also just completed a prison sentence, and as far as the state of Oklahoma was concerned, would be known as a sex offender for the next ten years of his life.  Because of his sex offender status, the closest place he could live to his home town of Tulsa was a run down motel just outside the city limits on the west side of town…a motel filled with people with the same label.

I live on the east side of Tulsa, so a one-way trip to this motel was about 20 miles.  More often than not, when I arrived at this motel and picked him up, I was greeted by a needy, bitter, demanding, complaining person who was considered an outcast by society, including his own family, but was a child of God and who felt the need to be at church.

As I grew weary of driving across town to pick this man up and doing so as gas prices soared, I remembered Dad picking up James Watts and thought to myself, “This is exactly what Dad would do.”  There were many other beneficiaries of Dad’s kind deeds and Dad didn’t necessarily teach us kids with direct instruction as much as he taught by example.