March/April 2004 issue

In Memoriam: Robert C. Tucker, Clerk of Court, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, 1958 - 1979

Robert C. Tucker, former Clerk of the Court for the United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, died on March 20, 2004, of a heart attack at the age of 83. Mr. Tucker was only the third clerk to serve since the court's establishment in 1891. The first clerk was John D. Jordan, who served until 1920. The second, E. E. Koch, served from 1920 until 1957. Mr. Tucker was appointed in 1958 and served until 1979.

Robert Tucker was known for the efficiency of his Clerk's Office, the patient guidance he provided to attorneys on the rules and practices of the Court, the rapport he established with lawyers throughout the country, and the many courtesies he extended to them. When he retired, U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Donald P. Lay told the story of an attorney who, having lost his luggage on his flight, "frantically approached the clerk's office ten minutes before argument without a suit coat or a tie. Bob promptly took off his suit coat and gave it to him and reached into his desk drawer and pulled out any number of ties which he had on reserve for just such an occasion. I also know that he keeps extra shaving gear in his office in the event a lawyer loses his shaving kit on the plane and has it readily available for such emergencies." This was typical of Bob Tucker, a highly respected Clerk of Court and friend to all.

Mr. Tucker was a resident of St. Louis, Missouri. He obtained his undergraduate degree from Saint Louis University in 1941 and joined the Coast Guard. After three years as a lieutenant in the Pacific during World War II, he returned to St. Louis where he graduated from Washington University Law School in 1946. Immediately following his graduation, Mr. Tucker served as adjudicator for the Veterans Administration, St. Louis, Missouri, until 1948. He practiced law in St. Louis from 1949 until 1953, when he was appointed Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri. On April 1, 1958, he was appointed Clerk of the U.S. Court of Appeals, where he served 21 years until his retirement, on December 31, 1979. After a few years in Florida, Mr. Tucker returned to St. Louis to join the law firm of Lashly & Baer, where he worked for five years. After he retired in 1991, Mr. Tucker traveled all seven continents.

In addition to his professional work, Mr. Tucker was elected Grand Knight of the Knights of Columbus in 1951 and served as president of the St. Louis Chapter of the Federal Bar Association in 1961.

Mr. Tucker was married to the former Lillian Cross of St. Louis, who died in 1987, and is survived by four children and six grandchildren. He will be greatly missed.

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