Carolyn Alice Tucher's Obituary
Carolyn Tucher was a Colorado girl, born in small-town Longmont in view of her beloved Rocky Mountains. She attended the University of Colorado, staying in-state because her parents didn’t want her going East for fear she’d marry far away and not return. Ironically, in Boulder she fell in love with a student from Germany, Tony Tucher. They married, moved to the Boston and New York areas, had four children, and then came West to Palo Alto. But for 40+ years she returned regularly to Colorado to climb mountains, hunt wildflowers, and see family.
In Palo Alto—because she’d been a teacher as a young bride and was committed to public education—Carolyn volunteered in the schools and served eight years on the school board. The board faced tough decisions during her tenure, as Palo Alto went through demographic changes that led to contentious debates over school closures. Her colleagues in local politics often said she dealt with these tough issues with grace, compassion, and fairness.
Carolyn served on state committees relating to education: the State Advisory Commission on Special Education, the State Superintendent’s Advisory Committee on the Teaching of Writing, and the California School Boards Association State Legislative Committee. Locally, she served on the boards of Leadership Midpeninsula, Adolescent Counseling Services, and the Palo Alto Art Center Foundation.
Carolyn also focused on bringing people together through education and art, and on building bridges across the 101 freeway to East Palo Alto. She co-founded Cultural Kaleidoscope, a Palo Alto Art Center program that teamed up children and teachers from Palo Alto and East Palo Alto with local artists. She served on the board of Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto at a crucial time of rebuilding for that organization.
Carolyn received both Palo Alto’s “Tall Tree” award and the Avenidas “Lifetimes of Achievement” award. But she was quick to point out that her achievements were not hers alone. “Nothing that I have done have I done myself. Maybe I got the credit, but it really wasn’t my accomplishment. It was the team,” she said in accepting one of these awards. One of Carolyn’s many talents was recruiting others to participate in support of the community.
Carolyn’s faith and church community were a big source of strength for her. She was a long-time member and devoted volunteer at the First Church of Christ, Scientist in Palo Alto.
But for Carolyn, family always came first. Sunday barbecues, weekends skiing in the Sierras, and long bike rides along the California coast formed, for her, the foundation of family fun. Later in life, she and Tony built a family home in Kirkwood to entice the grandchildren with ski adventures and summer hikes. Carolyn could name every Sierra wildflower, and she celebrated her 80th birthday with a family hike to one of her favorite mountain lakes.
Carolyn lived most of her last years at The Hamilton in downtown Palo Alto. There, she cherished the friendly community and lively dinner conversations, and she loved the convenience of walking to downtown shops and the farmers’ market, where she never failed to bump into friends from her many years of community engagement. The last months of her life she lived in Oakland, near two of her children.
Carolyn is survived by her four children and their spouses, Chris Tucher and Sandra Cavanah in Palo Alto; Alison Tucher and Chuck Dyke in Berkeley; Phil Tucher and Karen Engel in Oakland; and Annie and Tom Black in Boise; her eight grandchildren, Emma, Henry, and Oliver Tucher, Madeline and Miles Dyke, Jules and Jamie Tucher, and Thor Black; her sisters, Katherine Oliver and PiperAnne Worcester; and many cousins, nieces, nephews, and dear friends. She was preceded in death by her husband H. Anton (Tony) Tucher and her brother James (Jim) Hamm.
The family invite you to join them in celebrating Carolyn’s life at the Palo Alto Arts Center on Sunday afternoon, August 16, at 4 p.m. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Carolyn's honor to Community Legal Services of East Palo Alto, the Palo Alto Arts Center’s Creative Connections (formerly Cultural Kaleidoscope), or an organization of your choice. Or honor her memory by joining a neighborhood group or town committee, volunteering in the schools or running for school board.
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