Betty (Blackwell) Tucker

Betty Tucker, 88, loving wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, daughter, sister and aunt joined her husband and was welcomed into Heaven by Our Heavenly Father.  Betty passed away on Monday, 4 April 2022, in Southern Pines, NC. Among many wonderful attributes, she was the care provider for her husband Perry Tucker who, for over 10 years, battled Alzheimer’s and Dementia. Betty finally succumbed to the same disease.

Betty was born to Tinnie Walker Blackwell and Harry Adron Blackwell on 16 August 1933, in Mebane, NC.  She grew up in Alamance County with her three brothers, Bill, Bob and Landy. She graduated from Burlington High and was in the Red Cross, a member of the Debating Club, the Bible Club, the Tri-Hi-Y and was a Barker Typist.  Each of those memberships clearly helped pave her future.

Betty was swooped off her feet by the love of her life, Korean War Veteran, United States Marine Corps Captain, Perry Alan Tucker. She married her sweetheart the day before Valentine’s Day in 1955 so that they could celebrate as a married couple. Betty worked as an Administrative Assistant for a Doctor in Raleigh and a  Dentist in Whiteville, NC. Betty was the instrumental motivation for the two to open their own business – Tucker Real Estate which remained solvent for over 50 years.

As a religious family, Betty and Perry were long time members of Highland Presbyterian Church in Fayetteville. They moved to Southern Pines and became members of Community Presbyterian Church in 2019.

In Fayetteville, Betty campaigned for and was elected to the Fayetteville City School Board. Breaking the gender barrier, in addition to being a Realtor, Betty was the first female VA Appraiser in Cumberland County. An avid gardener, her home’s landscaping was impeccable. With an eye for beauty, she always loved flowers and attended the American Floral Art School in Chicago, IL. For the rest of her life, she could construct the most beautiful flower arrangements both fresh and artificial. Always being youthful, she didn’t want to be called Grandmother, so from then on, she was “Bett.” She never knew a stranger and loved to visit with friends and family on her patio, dubbed “Bett’s Beach.”

Betty Tucker loved and selflessly cared for her aging parents. She is preceded in death by her parents, Tinnie and Harry Blackwell, her brother Bill, and her husband of 62 years, Perry Alan Tucker.  She is survived by, her son Perry Alan Tucker, Jr. and daughter-in-law Ann Tucker (Southern Pines) and daughter Mary Cate and husband Brice Spires  (Columbia); her daughter Susan Tucker Pjetraj and son-in-law Lieutenant Colonel Retired Walt Pjetraj (Tampa) and their daughters Brittany (H) Taylor Gray and great grandchildren Emerson Tucker Gray and Madeline Maria Gray (Atlanta); Claire (H) Timothy (TJ) Pinelli and great grandchildren Landon Perry Pinelli, and Elizabeth Gray (Chapin); and Catherine Pjetraj (Nashville); her brothers Bob Blackwell (Charlotte) and Landy Blackwell (Greensboro).

There will be a graveside service at the Alamance Memorial Park, 4039 South Church St., Burlington, NC 27215 at 12 noon on Saturday, April 9, 2022.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Community Presbyterian Church at P.O. Box 1449, Pinehurst, NC 28370.

Online condolences may be made to http://www.jerniganwarren.com

Arrangements by Jernigan-Warren Funeral Home, 545 Ramsey St. Fayetteville, NC 28301.

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