H. Dale Tucker, Former Warsaw Mayor, Dies At 80
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Harvey Dale Tucker, mayor of Warsaw from 1976 - 1980, was born in Beaver Dam March 11, 1922, and died July 30, 2002, leaving a legacy of service to the town, the county and the country.
He devoted much of his life to Democrat Party politics, hailed by friends and colleagues as the man responsible for keeping the two-party system alive in Kosciusko County.
He was the Kosciusko County Democrat Party chairman more than once in a 25-year period, stepping down in 1996 at age 73. In election after election, Tucker made sure the Republicans faced a challenge from the other party.
He named current chairman Steve Haines as his successor.
"He was the most patriotic, loyal friend I've ever had," Haines said this morning. "The Democrat Party and the community are going to miss him."
Haines said he approached Tucker at a fish fry and said he was interested in becoming active with the party. In two days, Haines was made a precinct chairman. In two months, Haines was named the city chairman.
"He even got me to run for city councilman," Haines said.
"I'm going to miss him something awful. Never, ever did I call Dale for help and not get it."
Congressman Tim Roemer presented Tucker with the Sagamore of the Wabash, the highest honor bestowed to Hoosiers, in 1996, when Tucker stepped down as chairman of the Kosciusko County Democrat party.
"Dale was a close member of my political family and a dear friend and somebody who always fought for principal and for the community," Roemer said from the U.S. Capitol this morning.
Tucker was one of the first to endorse Roemer as a candidate for U.S. Representative.
"I will miss Dale," Roemer said. "And I know Kosciusko County will dearly miss somebody who brought a better political system, good ideas and always had in mind a better and healthier community."
Roemer said Tucker always fought the good and fair fight.
"I know Indiana, as a state, will be a little worse off without his presence, but certainly better off for his life in our state," he said.
Even those on the other side of the political fence considered Tucker a good friend. They didn't need to see eye to eye.
"I'm like Harry Truman," Dale Tucker said in a 1995 Times-Union interview. "You know 'Give 'Em Hell Harry?' I don't give 'em hell. I just give 'em the truth and it sounds like hell."
The present mayor of Warsaw, Ernie Wiggins, treasures the stories the WWII pilot told when Wiggins was a youngster hanging around the airport.
Wiggins' father, Beecher, was a councilman during "Tuck's" mayoral term.
"Even though our political affiliations were different, Dale was a good friend of mine," Wiggins said.
"We did talk from time to time about issues in the city," Wiggins said this morning. "Once you've been a mayor, you're always a mayor."
Tucker was instrumental in bringing Ivy Tech State College here and was very active in ensuring that the campus remain in Warsaw. He spent hours this spring campaigning for the college's commitment to the community.
Tucker was a World War II pilot and instructor for the Army Air Force from 1942 to 1946. He served in the China-Burma-India Theater.
The 1940 Beaver Dam High School graduate was owner of Tucker Realty and a former corporation pilot for Orthopedic Equipment Co.
He married Dortha Decker in 1941; she died in 1987. They are the parents of two children, Janet and John.
He married Martha Knowles, who survives.
Tucker served on the mentone Town Council in the 1940s and was appointed to the Warsaw School Board in 1956 and served 11 years.
He ran unsuccessfully for sheriff in 1948 and for state representative in 1988.
He was a key figure in the development of Boggs Industrial Park on the city's west side.
During his term as mayor (he was the fourth Democrat to serve in that office) he made significant improvements along Park Avenue, arranging for the purchase of Camp Lucerne, now known as Lucerne Park; helped relocate the Myer Levin Scrap yard from what is now Central Park; and set the stage for the construction of Retired Tigers Apartments.
A partial obituary appears on today's page 3; a full obituary will be printed Thursday. [[In-content Ad]]
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Harvey Dale Tucker, mayor of Warsaw from 1976 - 1980, was born in Beaver Dam March 11, 1922, and died July 30, 2002, leaving a legacy of service to the town, the county and the country.
He devoted much of his life to Democrat Party politics, hailed by friends and colleagues as the man responsible for keeping the two-party system alive in Kosciusko County.
He was the Kosciusko County Democrat Party chairman more than once in a 25-year period, stepping down in 1996 at age 73. In election after election, Tucker made sure the Republicans faced a challenge from the other party.
He named current chairman Steve Haines as his successor.
"He was the most patriotic, loyal friend I've ever had," Haines said this morning. "The Democrat Party and the community are going to miss him."
Haines said he approached Tucker at a fish fry and said he was interested in becoming active with the party. In two days, Haines was made a precinct chairman. In two months, Haines was named the city chairman.
"He even got me to run for city councilman," Haines said.
"I'm going to miss him something awful. Never, ever did I call Dale for help and not get it."
Congressman Tim Roemer presented Tucker with the Sagamore of the Wabash, the highest honor bestowed to Hoosiers, in 1996, when Tucker stepped down as chairman of the Kosciusko County Democrat party.
"Dale was a close member of my political family and a dear friend and somebody who always fought for principal and for the community," Roemer said from the U.S. Capitol this morning.
Tucker was one of the first to endorse Roemer as a candidate for U.S. Representative.
"I will miss Dale," Roemer said. "And I know Kosciusko County will dearly miss somebody who brought a better political system, good ideas and always had in mind a better and healthier community."
Roemer said Tucker always fought the good and fair fight.
"I know Indiana, as a state, will be a little worse off without his presence, but certainly better off for his life in our state," he said.
Even those on the other side of the political fence considered Tucker a good friend. They didn't need to see eye to eye.
"I'm like Harry Truman," Dale Tucker said in a 1995 Times-Union interview. "You know 'Give 'Em Hell Harry?' I don't give 'em hell. I just give 'em the truth and it sounds like hell."
The present mayor of Warsaw, Ernie Wiggins, treasures the stories the WWII pilot told when Wiggins was a youngster hanging around the airport.
Wiggins' father, Beecher, was a councilman during "Tuck's" mayoral term.
"Even though our political affiliations were different, Dale was a good friend of mine," Wiggins said.
"We did talk from time to time about issues in the city," Wiggins said this morning. "Once you've been a mayor, you're always a mayor."
Tucker was instrumental in bringing Ivy Tech State College here and was very active in ensuring that the campus remain in Warsaw. He spent hours this spring campaigning for the college's commitment to the community.
Tucker was a World War II pilot and instructor for the Army Air Force from 1942 to 1946. He served in the China-Burma-India Theater.
The 1940 Beaver Dam High School graduate was owner of Tucker Realty and a former corporation pilot for Orthopedic Equipment Co.
He married Dortha Decker in 1941; she died in 1987. They are the parents of two children, Janet and John.
He married Martha Knowles, who survives.
Tucker served on the mentone Town Council in the 1940s and was appointed to the Warsaw School Board in 1956 and served 11 years.
He ran unsuccessfully for sheriff in 1948 and for state representative in 1988.
He was a key figure in the development of Boggs Industrial Park on the city's west side.
During his term as mayor (he was the fourth Democrat to serve in that office) he made significant improvements along Park Avenue, arranging for the purchase of Camp Lucerne, now known as Lucerne Park; helped relocate the Myer Levin Scrap yard from what is now Central Park; and set the stage for the construction of Retired Tigers Apartments.
A partial obituary appears on today's page 3; a full obituary will be printed Thursday. [[In-content Ad]]