Marjory Hampton Tucker

Marjory H. Tucker
Central, SC

Marjory Geraldine Hampton Tucker, 77, died peacefully in her sleep and went to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on January 1st, 2013.

She was an active member at First Baptist Church in Clemson, SC, and in her Sunday School class there, until illness prevented her from attending. She loved visiting homebound seniors as part of the Visitation Team, often bringing homemade goodies with her. She also was a faithful participant in the Prayer Ministry of the church and the Keenagers group.

She loved to read, a passion she passed on to her children and grandchildren. She regularly took part in the Library Book Discussion Group at the Clemson-Central Library.

She inspired her family toward higher education by going back to college when her children were in their teens, graduating from University of Virginia with a Bachelors of Arts degree in Religious Studies when she was just a couple weeks shy of her 40th birthday.

Margie, as she was known to her friends, had a gift with people. During her lifetime, she mailed out thousands of cards and letters, something that has become almost a lost art of today. She faithfully kept up with an address book full of family and friends, not just writing to these people regularly, but caring about them with all her heart. Her lifetime was marked by close relationships with people who found her to be a true friend. For Christmas for many years in a row, she gave each of the children and grandchildren a packet of family stories printed on special paper to place in the 3-ring binder she gave them the first Christmas that she did this. Some of the stories were the same for everyone, stories from her childhood and remembrances of her parents and grandparents (a priceless treasure trove of family lore), but many were specific memories she had of when the grandchild was born, activities she did with each one, and special events they shared. Along with family recipes sprinkled throughout, this notebook became one of the best gifts any of the family members could ever ask for.

Margie collected famous sayings. She loved sayings like "It�??s your attitude, not your aptitude, that determines your altitude" and "In times of change, there is no incentive so great, and no medicine so powerful as hope for a better tomorrow." Her personal favorite was "Never, never, never, Never give up," a quote by Winston Churchill. Her friends will recognize Margie�??s personal traits in some of these quotes by which she chose to live.
She attained a real estate broker�??s license in multiple states and an Instructor�??s License. She taught real estate classes in Texas, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina, and was given the Real Estate Educator of the Year Award in 1996 in New Jersey. Her specialty was Senior Housing Real Estate Specialist Designation. As her career unfolded, her passion for people and real estate earned her warm and lasting relationships at Windrows Retirement Community in Princeton, New Jersey, where she worked as the broker on-site.
Possessing an insatiable appetite for travel and a zest for adventure, Margie did everything from dogsledding in Alaska, swimming with dolphins in California, and whale watching off Cape Cod to cruising the Caribbean, taking carriage rides through the historic towns of Charleston and Savannah, and watching the changing of the guard at the palace in England during a two-week, eight-country tour of Europe. She loved photography, and while in Alaska, took incredible photographs of grizzly bears at close range. Often, she traveled with family such as when she traveled west with the Borchert family to a dude ranch, visited a wolf preservation project with Lyn and her children, and watched a space shuttle liftoff with the Colliers in Florida. But, Margie was not at all afraid to take off on her own for an adventure. Wanting to get a real taste of the western United States, she spent weeks driving through it, visiting historical sites such as the wagon ruts of the Oregon Trail in Wyoming and a gold mine in California. She went up in a hot air balloon at Colorado Springs, rode the Durango-Silverton Train in Colorado, followed buffalo herds in Custer State Park, explored the redwoods in Sequoia and Yosemite National parks, tasted wine at Napa Valley, and rode a streetcar in San Francisco. Combining her loves of travel and reading, she cruised up the Canadian coast to Prince Edward Island to visit the setting and home of the author of the book, Anne of Green Gables. She traveled every state in the United States, including Hawaii.

As much as she loved travel and church, she named "Family" as her passion in life. She is survived by three daughters, Lyn Vande Brake of Alton, Iowa; Tandy Collier of Six Mile, South Carolina; and Melanie Tucker of Princeton, New Jersey; ten grandchildren, Andrea Harwood, John Collier, Steven Collier, Meshele Bordeau, Daniel Collier, William Borchert, Christy Collier, Rob Borchert, Doug Borchert, and Tom Borchert; and seven great-grandchildren, Titus and Jubilee Harmon, Ashton and Abby Collier, Caelen and Connor Moran, and Patience Bordeau (with two more great-grandchildren due in January and February respectively to John and Sarah Collier, and Meshele and Tom Bordeau). Margie loved nothing more than to cuddle with a grandbaby, and she often traveled to see her grandchildren while they were growing up, attending their ballgames and graduations. She will be sorely missed by all who knew her.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to recognize Mom�??s (and Grandma�??s) love for her church, specifically the Visitation Ministry Team and the Prayer Ministry Team, both which serve the homebound and those in need. Memorials can be made in Margie�??s name and sent to: First Baptist Church of Clemson, 397 College Avenue, Clemson, SC 29631.