It is with broken hearts that we announce the passing of William Francis (Bill) Tucker, Jr., born on December 16, 1960, in New York City, and returned to Heaven on October 14, 2026 to be with Jesus, his Savior, and reunited with his mother, father and grandmother. Bill was an exceptional human being who was loved deeply by everyone in his life, from his family to the hundreds of friends he made and always stayed in touch with from every aspect of his life including his childhood, high school, college, the Army, work and his children’s lives.

Bill was the most decent person ever, who was the kindest man, with a huge heart and generous spirit who helped and lifted everyone - including animals. Although he called his wife, the dog whisperer because she rescued animals, including their dog, Pete, one hour before being euthanized, Bill loved animals just as much. In Maryland two puppies had been abandoned and showed up at door. At the time, Bill had three dogs and his response to the situation: “What’s the difference between having three or five dogs?” When he moved to Florida he had six rescues: four Black Labs and two Golden Labs, which was a 24-hour travel adventure move.

Bill was exceptionally intelligent, a lifelong learner and reader who was extremely knowledgeable in many subjects, especially history, military, math, science, literature, music and sports. He loved having intelligent, interesting, thoughtful and thought provoking conversations. Bill could have easily been a Jeopardy show contestant and champion. He answered every question correctly when he watched. Bill had the best sense of humor; he was extremely witty and funny and absolutely always enjoyed having fun. He never took anything seriously and enjoyed life to its fullest.

Bill was gifted athletically, playing and excelling at many sports in his youth, and working out every day as an adult in the gym. He loved watching and coaching his children in their various sports, always with a positive, encouraging and supportive disposition and never overbearing, intrusive or burdening. He instilled in his children to do their best; enjoy their efforts; and take in stride any wins or losses with grace and respect for coaches, officials, teammates, and opponents, and always walk away a better person for the experience.

An avid sports fan is an understatement. Bill’s sports passion includes every Penn State sport – especially football, wrestling, hockey and women’s volleyball; Rugby Six Nations; European Soccer; and his New York Giants, Mets, Islanders and Knicks. He was so thrilled to watch with his family when, after 53 years, his New York Knicks won their NBA world championship. Bill also was a fan of the Tampa Bay teams including the Lightning, Bucs and Rays.

Bill attended Penn State, and later earned two master’s degrees from Johns Hopkins University including an MBA in Finance, and a master’s in Real Estate Investment Finance. His MREIF thesis was his creation of a Return on Investment tool incorporating multiple applications and hundreds of data such as cost per square foot, air rights, construction costs, etc., and thousands of calculations in seconds to yield ROI results for commercial investment. Bill’s tool was the first of its kind in the industry and garnered him interest from Legg Mason to purchase and Johns Hopkins for Bill to teach. For years he received inquiries from around the world about his REIF tool.

Bill was a proud US Army veteran, son of a US Marine Captain, and looking forward to his sons serving our country in the near future. He was passionate about our great country and especially those who have served and serve – especially WW II veterans. He had a special place in heart for the “Greatest Generation.”

Bill was extremely devoted to his wife, Janet, throughout their 38 and a half years together, and children, and made them all his number one priority in life. He was the most loving husband and father -- truly the absolute best. He supported his gifted children in everything they did including their academics, STEM competitions, performing arts (music, band, theater) and sports. Bill was looking forward to being the first to salute his son, Michael, when he is commissioned as a US Navy Nuclear Surface Warfare Officer (NSWO) in December.

Bill is survived by his wife, Janet; his children William III, Michael and Raegan; his beloved dog, Pete, who has been crying and howling for Bill; his Goddaughter, Jade Rivera; his Mother and Father In Law, Mike and Elba Rivera, Sister In Law, Bridget (husband Pip); his siblings Dan Tucker (wife Gina), Jean Tucker (husband Bob) and Dave Tucker; his many nieces and nephews; all his cousins and their families; and his extensive set of close friends from childhood, high school, college and the Army. Bill is preceded in death by his father, mother and grandmother, grandmother in law, aunts, uncles and cousins.

A Celebration of Life with Military Honors will be held on Friday, November 13, 2026 from 5:00 – 9:00 p.m. at Serenity Meadows, 6919 Providence Road, Riverview, FL 33578. Military Honors will begin at 5:00 p.m.

All are welcome. In Lieu of flowers donations in Bill’s honor and memory may be made to the following veteran and animal rescue organizations:

Honor Flight West Central Florida https://honorflightwcf.org/ (or any specific regional hub of the Honor Flight Network National Portal https://www.honorflight.org/)

Gary Sinise Foundation https://www.garysinisefoundation.org/

Tunnel to Towers Foundation https://t2t.org/

Delilah's 2nd Chance Animal Rescue https://www.delilahs2ndchance.org/

4 Lucky Dogs Pet Rescue 4luckydogs.org