(Above Photo) Professor Emerita Dorethe "Dot" Tucker, right, and her husband, Dr. Clay Tucker, pose for a photo on the steps of the MTSU theater named for them during a special 1987 ceremony at the Boutwell Dramatic Arts Auditorium. Mrs. Tucker, called the "founding mother of today's Department of Theatre and Dance" at the university, died Jan. 8 at age 97. She taught and directed theater at MTSU from 1956 to 1981; her late husband was a professor of English and dean of the College of Liberal Arts. (MTSU file photo)
Dorethe Louise Pigg Tucker was the gentle, encouraging heart that encouraged many in the early years of the Speech and Theatre Department at Middle Tennessee State University. She passed away Sunday (1/8/2017) at the age of 97. Services will be 2:00 o'clock Wednesday (1/11/2017) at Woodfin Funeral Chapel with burial to follow at Evergreen.
Although she was born in Arizona, Dorethe spent most of her years in Middle Tennessee. She was a graduate of Ward Belmont College in Nashville, which was known for music, Murfreesboro's Middle Tennessee State College, prior to it changing to university status in the mid 60's, and then she went to New York to complete studies at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
She fostered many students into the entertainment field and loved theatre. In fact, Dorethe served as the diretor of theatre at MTSU for 25-years, and the university's Tucker Theatre honors the memory of both Dorethe and her husband Houston Clay Tucker.
Mrs. Tucker joined the faculty of the Middle's Language Arts Department in 1956 and became a member of the Department of Speech and Theatre when it was formed in 1965.
She worked as a theater director and sponsor of the Buchanan Players, an organization for MTSU students that allows them to create, produce, direct and perform in new plays, until her retirement from MTSU in 1981.
During her tenure at MTSU, Mrs. Tucker taught acting and directing, served as sponsor of the Alpha Psi Omega Honorary Dramatic Fraternity and directed almost 100 plays, helping to provide training and experience for her students and entertainment and enlightenment for the school and community.
Dr. James Brooks Jr., former chair of MTSU's Department of Speech and Theatre, remarked at a 2015 alumni reunion that Mrs. Tucker was the "founding mother of today's Department of Theatre and Dance."
"She was the heart and soul of theater at MTSU," he said. "She was beloved by her students, and rightly so. No one could ever have had more commitment to educational theater than she did."
The university honored Mrs. Tucker and her husband, H. Clayton "Clay" Tucker, former dean of the College of Liberal Arts at MTSU, in 1987 by naming the theater inside the Dramatic Arts Auditorium for the couple. Dr. Tucker, a U.S. Navy veteran and professor of English, died in 1997 at age 91.
The nearly 53-year-old Tucker Theatre, which is used year-round at MTSU for theatrical productions and special campus events, was renovated in 2010 to better accommodate audiences and upgrade stage lighting, mechanicals and audio and video components.
She was a charter member of the Tennessee Theater Association and served one term as president. Dorethe was revered by students, faculty and administrators and upon retirement she was named Professor Emeritus.
Jeff Gibson, current chair of MTSU's Department of Theatre and Dance, said Mrs. Tucker's legacy of dedication and commitment to the university and the theatre program continues today through the awarding of the Dorethe Tucker Scholarship to outstanding students of theater performance, as well as "The Dorethes," an annual awards ceremony recognizing student achievements in the department.
You can listen to a 1995 interview with Mrs. Tucker via the Albert Gore Sr. Research Center's archives, in which she recalls her years at MTSU, here. A transcript of the interview is available as a PDF here.
Dorethe Louise Pigg Tucker was the daughter of the late William Henderson and Louise Walker Pigg. She was also preceded in death by her husband, Houston Clay Tucker who died in 1997 and brother, W. H. Pigg, Jr. who died in 2015.
Funeral service will be 2:00pm Wednesday at Woodfin Memorial Chapel. Rev. Ann Benson will officiate. Burial will follow in Evergreen Cemetery.
Mrs. Tucker is survived by her son, Clark Tucker of Jacksonville Beach, FL, daughter, Susan Collins and her husband Cooper of Salida, CO, brother, James E. Pigg of Shelbyville, grandchildren, Hugh "Bud" Wilson, John Clark Tucker and Robert Clay Tucker.
Mrs. Tucker was a member of First United Methodist Church.
Memorials may be made to The Dorethe Tucker Scholarship Fund at MTSU in her memory.
