Elease “Boots” Tucker

Elease “Boots” Tucker, age 100, died Saturday, April 13, 2019, at Morton County Senior Living Community in Elkhart, Kansas. She was born August 1, 1918, in Sparta, Tennessee, the daughter of William F. and Edna M. (Johnson) Hicks.

At the age of 2 years, Elease’s family homesteaded four miles west of Elkhart near Sturgis, Oklahoma. She attended Round Top School, and graduated from Elkhart High School, where she was very active in team sports. Elease met Pete Tucker her junior year in high school and they were married June 25, 1938, in Guymon, Oklahoma. They moved to McCune, Kansas, and then Mulberry, before returning to Elkhart to work on the Hicks’ family farm. Elease’s rodeo career began in 1947. She was the 1961 World Champion Barrel Racer and inducted into the Kansas Cowboy Hall of Fame at the Boot Hill Museum in Dodge City on November 11, 2017. Elease is a member of the First Baptist Church and the Morton County Historical Society.

Elease is survived by many dear friends and family.

Elease is preceded in death by her parents; and husband, Pete, on February 15, 1963.

Funeral service will be held Tuesday, April 23, 2019, at 2:30 PM at the First Baptist Church in Elkhart, Kansas, with Pastor Ed Richards and Randy Walls officiating. Interment will follow at the Elkhart Cemetery. Visitation will be Monday, April 22, 2019, from 2:00 PM – 8:00 PM at Garnand Funeral Home in Elkhart. Memorials may be given to Whistle Stop Park or Morton County Historical Society in care of Garnand Funeral Home, PO Box 854, Elkhart, KS 67950. Condolences may be posted at www.garnandfuneralhomes.com.