They committed their lives to education and learning; now Frances and Oliver Tucker ’39 have funded endowed scholarships at Wofford for students interested in doing the same.
Oliver Tucker served public schools in upstate South Carolina for 47 years, retiring as principal of Duncan Elementary School in the mid-1960s. His wife, Frances McElrath Tucker, did her teaching on Sundays as a Sunday School teacher at Memorial United Methodist Church. After retiring as principal, Mr. Tucker founded a real estate development firm in Greer. Mrs. Tucker continued to work for Peebles Kimbrel. Together they created a significant estate that after their deaths (Mr. Tucker on July 16, 2008; Mrs. Tucker on Sept. 9, 2010) now provides generous support for Wofford, the United Methodist Church, and their extended family.
Wofford will use its portion to fund scholarships for Wofford students interested in pursuing careers in public education.
“Oliver was a WWII veteran, active in Kiwanis both locally and nationally and very good to his church,” says nephew Ronnie Bruce ’68, an attorney in Greer, S.C. According to Bruce, although the Tuckers never had children of their own, they enjoyed their Wofford family, their church family and their extended family (Frances was one of 13 children who all remained close).
“Oliver was in his mid-80s when he and Frances started to consider how they could take care of Wofford in a permanent way. I encouraged them to do that… not that they needed any real encouragement,” says Bruce. “They were good people whose hearts were always in the right place.”
Oliver passed away before Frances, but made provisions through a “tax-wise estate plan,” which minimized estate taxes while maximizing benefits to family and charitable organizations, to support Frances during her lifetime. After her death, the remainder of the estate passed to the charitable and family beneficiaries as named in the Tuckers’ wills (Wofford received one-fourth of both).
“The Tuckers are the hidden jewels of the college,” says Smith Patterson ’67, former director of gift planning. “Over the years I have had the privilege of working with many generous Wofford supporters who have established scholarships through their estates, and I must say that Oliver and Frances Tucker exemplify the spirit of unselfish generosity which is so prevalent amongst the Wofford faithful. As children of the Depression, they had an unequaled appreciation for the benefits of a college education, and by establishing these scholarships, they will enable future generations of students to also realize those benefits.”
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