John Calvin Rucker
November 9, 1949 - December 16, 2023
Obituary
John “Bo” Rucker was born to Clara Williams in Oak Grove, Louisiana on November 9, 1949. He was raised there in rural Louisiana by his grandparents, Rush and Gertrude Williams. As a teenager, Bo moved to Los Angeles to live with his mother and his sisters, Pepper and Kool, and his brother Robert. In the early 1970’s, Bo moved to Seattle, becoming a lifelong resident, and met and married his wife Terrie in 1978.
Bo loved FAMILY, it meant everything to him, and that love drove so much of what he did. He and Terrie and his beloved mother-in-law, Marianne, purchased their home together and lived happily together in what the rest of the family called “the Big House” for decades. Bo truly believed that family should support each other and put that belief into action. Bo’s passion and talent was construction, mostly remodeling, and that passion and talent can be seen in his own home where he was constant in making improvements to the house to increase his family’s comfort and enjoyment of home. He took such pleasure in making his house into a home where his larger family could gather and would love to be!
Bo loved to take family vacations and frequently led a summer caravan of vehicles on road trips crisscrossing the west and south of the country. He would pack up the family and all their luggage and “must haves” without complaint and go to the beach, or the mountains, or to visit places that his family would enjoy. He was a champion of the BBQ and a wonderful “soul food” cook who generously prepared and provided delicious and abundant meals for family events, holidays, and everyday meals.
Bo’s children, daughter Tracy, the oldest, followed by John Jr, and then Christopher, were each loved and cherished by their dad. Bo and Terrie have been blessed by grandchildren Jordan Rucker, Makaela Tobin, Chelsea Tobin, Ashleigh Tobin, Christopher Rucker Jr. and Keishionna Rucker. Bo was an amazing grandfather who adored and delighted in his grandchildren and was so proud of their accomplishments.
Bo was a strong and loyal believer in Jesus Christ and lived his faith as a parishioner at St James Cathedral where he regularly attended Sunday mass and supported the church’s mission for more than 30 years.
John “Bo” Rucker passed forever into the mercy of the Lord, in his home, surrounded by loving family, on December 16, 2023. He is with his loved ones in Paradise and full of joy and rest. We miss him now, but know that we will rejoin him forever, in due time, for we believe as he believed.
Bo is survived by his wife Terrie, his daughter Tracy, sons John and Chris, his brother Robert and sister Kool, his brothers-in-law Valentino Laciste and Joseph Herndon, and sisters-in-law Sherrie Cote-Laciste and Karen Herndon, his nieces AnnaMarie Cote’-Laciste and Andrea Johnson and nephew Michael Cote’-Laciste, his uncle Luther Williams, and his Aunt Genelle Lee, his grandchildren, and his numerous cousins who enjoyed his life and anticipate meeting him again in Glory.
One thing I ask of the Lord, this I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, that I may gaze on the loveliness of the Lord and contemplate his temple. I believe that I shall see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord with courage; be stout-hearted and wait for the Lord. Ps 27
We will always love and cherish you Bo! You will be surely missed! ❤️
Eddie Gibson rest in peace my cousin love forever
Each day without you hurts more and more. Love you so much grandpa. Can’t wait to see you again ❤️
Love you Grandpa, till we meet again ❤️
My dear beloved husband. I miss you beyond what any words could ever express. You are forever in my heart. We were blessed with so many years, family, love, AND with faith in a power higher than us. I know you are at peace in our Lord’s Kingdom and that, gives me peace.
With all my love forever.
From the dirt roads of Louisiana, to the city streets of California, you were my pillow of comfort. While we traveled in the back seat of Reverend Carl’s car on our journey to California you assured me that everything would be okay. You made a scary trip for my five year old self exciting ,fun ,full of jokes & laughter. I will always remember your love and kindness to me as your little cousin. Although our birthday & holiday talks has ended your love for family & friends will dwell in my heart forever.
Love you for eternity.
Cousin B.
Bo, all the best times of my life included you! We traveled some roads and had some fun. We kept together during tough times and weathered some storms too. My life is blessed with having you in it, now and forever. God give you joy and rest dear Brother. Love always!
Sis
Bo, I will truly miss you. I will miss your smiling face and your bubbly personality. You were always an inspiration to me and my family. Although we are cousins thru marriage, I always looked at you as my “brother”. I know you are at peace now. You will forever be in my heart.
“Sis” Linda W
Dad- if I could just hear your voice one more time. I will miss our hour long talks about cooking and fixing things. I’m so grateful my kids got to know and love you. We will make sure your great grandkids and their grandkids know you the way we did. You will be forever loved and missed. Until I see you again. Tracy
Gregory Crawford
You always treated us like family, welcoming and warm. I’ll always cherish the memories I have of you laughing, cooking at the get togethers. Your truly missed.
Cuz. Farewell my brother. We had the greatest times together. You welcome to be to Seattle you told me everything I needed to know. I love you so much my brother and I know God is true to his word and he has prepared a place for each of us we all will have the the opportunity to enjoy eternity with him. One Love For Life my brother
Dear Gramps I miss you a lot, and things still don’t feel that real to me personally. I miss having you helping me light fires on the beach, teaching me how to drive or taking me to school every day. I’ve never taken a single thing you’ve done or helped me with for granted. Always trying to understand and absorb any wisdom and knowledge I could get from you. The world’s a lot more grey for me without you here and probably gonna be that way for a while. I deeply miss you Grandpa and look forward to seeing you again when all is said and done for me in life. I love you and hope that you’re having fun with the smile that I will always remember.
Hey Pops just wanted to talk at you for a minute
I remember you always telling my babies how much you wish you had a Dad like me and that made me so proud 🥲 because all I ever wanted to be was you… You we’re my idol my hero my Daddy my everything I even look like a yellow you gap teeth and all… But I remember the day in class when I was in high school and our teacher wanted us to write an essay about who our hero was and I wanted to write about you and the other students objected to it because our teacher specifically said it had to be a famous person ( ball player, singer, actor) etc… well only person like that I would have wanted to write about was Gary Payton but I told my teacher that i would be lying cuz my Daddy is my hero and so he said well we will make an exception and everybody in my class agreed… Long story short I got an A on my report, would have been an A+ but just like my Daddy my writing wasn’t too pretty… But still and all I got an A and he told me that that was the best essay that he had read and I was proud… But at the same time I knew that it wasn’t hard for me and I felt to myself without him telling me that my essay was the best because for me you were the best and it wasn’t hard for me to write about all the reasons that you were I Love you so much and I know you will be here with me everyday Daddy cuz I will keep you with me forever & ever 🤞🙏🫶
Hey Pops just stopped by to say hey. Notta day passes where your not heavy on my mind. How admirable, genuine and loyal you were. What you stood for. What I learned from you. I miss you and love you very much….. ALWAYS!! 💪🏽👑