David
H. Tucker, 71, a longtime resident of Central Vermont, passed away at
home on Thursday, March 13, 2025, following a brief battle with
cancer, with his wife and brother and close friends at his side.
David
was born on January 14, 1954, in Barre, the son of Everett D. and
Frances M. Tucker. David arrived that day along with his identical
twin brother, Mark. David, Mark and their sister, Kay, grew up on
Velie Avenue in Barre Town. He attended Barre Town schools and
Spaulding High School and graduated from U-32 High School in 1972.
The
two most important things in David’s life were his love for his
family and his work in public service. He met his wife, Julie
Lambert, in 1995, and they married in 1999. Julie was the light in
David’s eyes. She brought her family to the relationship — two
sons, John Lambert and his wife, Katina in Northfield, and their
children, Andrew and Baylee; and Adam Lambert in Berlin, as well as
Michelle Savary, Adam’s former wife, of Berlin. Andrew lives in
Williamstown with his partner, Chelsea, and their two children, Mika
and Aria. Baylee lives in White Bluff, Tenn., with her husband, Tyler
Jordan. They are expecting their first child, Wyatt Andrew, in June.
He is also survived by his sister-in-law, Holly Gathright, and her
husband, Jim Brown, of Burlington, and his brother-in-law, Buck
Gathright, of California. David always loved Julie’s family as his
own.
David
was a consummate professional in his work life. After high school he
attended Johnson State College for two years then spent a year at
Weber College in Florida, before moving to Salisbury, Md., where he
continued his studies at Eastern Maryland University. He worked in a
number of restaurants, eventually advancing to kitchen manager at a
350-seat restaurant in Ocean City, Md. In 1990 he moved back to Barre
and took a job at the Vermont Department of Labor, rising to the
level of deputy commissioner. He finished his undergraduate studies
at Johnson State College in 1992 and subsequently earned a master’s
in public administration from the University of Vermont and a
master’s in information technology from Champlain College. He
transferred to the Department of Information and Innovation in 2006,
where he served as deputy commissioner. In 2011 he took a position as
executive director of the Vermont Enhanced 911 Board. In that role he
was instrumental in implementing the first “text-to-911”
capability in the United States. Text-to-911 was a heralded
innovation that, beyond providing basic access to 911 service,
provided a means for persons in abusive situations and those who are
deaf or hard of hearing, to safely contact authorities without having
to speak aloud on the telephone. David retired from state government
in 2015.
David
was an avid golfer and member of the Barre Country Club. In 2017 he
answered an ad when Goddard’s WGDR/WGDH community radio station was
looking for programmers. David had been involved in community radio
at U-32 and Johnson State College, and he jumped at the opportunity
to get back behind the microphone. His show, the “Long and Winding
Road,” focused initially on classic rock music, starting with a
one-hour, mid-week show that grew over the years to a three-hour show
on Friday afternoons. David evolved his show in recent years to focus
solely on new music — rock, soft country, blues, etc. — and he
developed a reputation amongst Indie music artists and their labels
for his willingness to play music that did not easily reach
mainstream radio stations. And just as he did in his professional
life, David took on greater responsibility at the station. At the
time of his passing, he was co-music director and chair of the board.
David played an instrumental role in helping the station transition
from Goddard College control to a separate 501(c)3 entity, Central
Vermont Community Radio. Over the years he developed deep friendships
with his fellow programmers at the station and with the current
station manager. He also took on the task of mentoring new
programmers and especially enjoyed working with students who
expressed interest in radio. He and his wife, Julie, attended
hundreds of music concerts over the years. He was, in his heart,
foremost a Bruce Springsteen devotee, but he could name and describe
hundreds of other musicians from his encyclopedic history with music
and musicians.
David
is survived by his wife, Julie; her children and their extended
families; his brother, Mark, and his wife, Cathy; his sister, Kay;
and the many friends and work colleagues who rallied alongside him
during his brief illness. His father, Everett, passed away in 2002,
and his mother, Fran, passed away in 2004. The family has been
blessed for 70 years by the love and care of their Velie Avenue
neighbors, Dottie and Moe Fortier and their six children.
There
will be no calling hours or funeral. David will be interred later
this spring at Hope Cemetery in a private service, and plans are
underway for a celebration of life to be held later this summer.
Guare
and Sons Funeral Home in Montpelier is in charge of arrangements. In
lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to Central Vermont Community Radio at 123 Pitkin Rd., Plainfield, VT 05667,
or to Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice.
Arrangements
are in the care of the Cremation Society of Chittenden County, a
division of the Ready Family, 261 Shelburne Rd., Burlington, VT. To
send online condolences, please visit cremationsocietycc.com.