| Updated: 8/29/2012 5:30 pm |
Published: 8/28/2012 9:25 am
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"Everybody is somebody," that is the message Mother Grace Tucker lived out for 93 years.
The pastor and advocate for Tulsa's homeless population died around 10 Monday night.
She was surrounded by her children and grandchildren.
Her passion for God is what Mother Grace Tucker’s family will remember most but it wasn't always in the pulpit.
"She was the same way at church that she was at home," said her Grandson Rodney Jones.
After his mother became ill when he was five years old, Mother Tucker helped raise him. Now 40 years later he still remembers, one of the biggest lessons she taught him: how to love.
"I've seen her deal with the strangest types of people and treat them like children," Jones told FOX23.
Mother Tucker fed and helped the homeless for more than 5 decades. She served 500,000 meals. Jones says she was feeding more than just their stomachs but their souls.
"Anywhere you can reach somebody there's a ministry," he said.
Tucker started her homeless ministry out of her thrift store in 1975.
In 1980, she started the House of Prayer Rescue Home.
"I could hear her saying, even now, as she's gone on home to be with the lord, if I could just help somebody along the way then my living wouldn't be in vain," said James Johnson, a Tulsan touched by Mother Tucker’s acts of kindness.
"Four letters says it all. Love. Period. She was about love," Johnson said.
"She says love is a deep respect," said Jones.
That is a message many people throughout Tulsa won’t forget.
Mother Tucker won the "Jefferson Award" back in 2007 for ordinary people who do extraordinary things.
Mother Tucker's funeral will be open to the public. It is scheduled for Tuesday, September 4th at 10am at Victory Christian Center.
