Faye Tucker

Faye Smith Allen Tucker June 22nd, 1906- September 15th, 2015 Beloved Mother, Grandmother, Great-Grandmother, and Great-Great Grandmother lived to be 109 years young. As the sustaining matriarch of her large family for multiple decades, her joy in life was spending time with the five generations of family who surrounded her almost daily in loving embrace with parties, visits, and dinners out in Houston--the city she loved & called home for more than three-quarters of a century. Her parents, Benjamin K. Smith and Anna Fine, emigrated from Romania in the early 1900's before having their six children together, all first generation Americans. Smith and Fine settled first in Pittsburgh, moved to Detroit, and later moved to Houston to start their company. Faye claimed seven siblings in all. There were two older sisters: Freda Smith Mann and Sallie Smith Friedman, three younger brothers: Albert K. Smith, Jack K. Smith, and Harry K. Smith, and two half-sisters: Isabelle Smith Herzstein and Katherine Smith Miller. Faye was the longest surviving. Faye and her husband, Harry Allen, moved from a small town outside Detroit when their children were young and settled alongside her father and other siblings in Houston in the 1930's. Raising her children on Wroxton Street in West University, her daughter remembers getting lost in the undeveloped fields of the surrounding area on the walk home from Pershing Elementary (currently West U Elementary). Faye lived through all of the wars, triumphs and sorrows of the 20th century, like the Great Depression, witnessing first-hand revolutionary inventions such as the Ford Model T, Technicolor films, television, transistors, the Atomic Bomb, commercial airline travel, household air-conditioning, sliced bread, the brassiere (1913), credit cards, lipstick (1915), and MANY more. Her life was shaped and defined by the world events she endured and the exposure to innovations that she willingly embraced as they came about. She kept up with the trends in technology better than most half her age. Her facebook page was administered through her pink ipad, a birthday gift from her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Her favorite part was gaining access to current pictures of family and ordering face creams from Amazon. Faye maintained all her faculties to the end of her life with a memory and wit people would describe as 'sharp as a knife'. She put on lipstick and the latest fashions everyday, never leaving the house without her signature coral nails, Cajun Shrimp by OPI and her giant white sunglasses. Typically she dressed to the nines in Pucci with coiffed hair, wedge shoes (even into her 100's), and the finest accessories. In colder months she would stun onlookers in her red leather swing coat with a black fox collar. She read the entire Houston Chronicle every day, compulsively completing the crossword puzzles and relaying the day's news stories to visitors and people who phoned to check in. Faye could also regularly be spotted engrossed in the latest Danielle Steele novel. Multiple interviews and articles were written about Faye during the latter years of her life and she is widely known for her age as well as her proficiency on her ipad. Maintaining extraordinary beauty to the end of her life, Faye was an inspiration and a vision of grace. Faye's father and brothers brought notoriety to the family throughout her lifetime with their successful industrial gases pipeline company, Big Three Industries, which was later sold to the French company, Air Liquide. Her baby brother Harry K. Smith held a chair at Rice University and her half-sister Isabelle Herzstein was a notable patron to the arts. An annual lecture at St. Thomas University, the Benjamin K. Smith Lecture, was established in honor of her accomplished father's memory. Faye was a devoted philanthropist and gave her time and financial aid to organizations like Hadassah and the March of Dimes in her younger years. As the years went on she gave everything to her family, spreading her generosity across the entire five generations. She attributed her longevity and admirable health to the two great loves of her life, Harry Allen, husband of 48 years, the father of her beloved surviving daughter Helene Allen Atlas who married her own Harry (Milne) this past Labor Day weekend, and to her late husband of almost 30 years, Henry Tucker. She credits these two men with maintaining her youthful spirit through their strong and enduring love. Faye was preceded in death by: husband Harry Allen, husband Henry (Hank) Tucker, all of her siblings, son Budd Allen, great-grand-daughter Amy Lee Atlas, grandson Michael David Atlas, & great-grandson Matthew Novak. She was also preceded by her favorite nephew Monte Friedman and his own beloved daughter, Kimberly Friedman Glover, who passed away this summer. Faye is survived by her daughter Helene Allen Atlas; grandchildren: Susan Atlas Bryson, Brian Smith Atlas, Cyd Sheri Atlas Novak, Jeffrey Greenman, Shelly Greenman; great-grandchildren: Kimberly Atlas Harrington, Sharly Bryson Simpson, Robyn Atlas Nooteboom, Andrew Novak, Zachary Bryson, Julie Atlas Taylor, Natalie Brook Atlas, Angela Faye Atlas, Harrison Meyer Atlas; nine great-great grandchildren, one of which is named Faye in her honor, and numerous family spouses, cousins, nieces & nephews all of whom Faye held very near & dear to her heart. Faye Tucker, a bold, bright, generous woman impacted many on her journey. The recollection of her hilarious, not entirely tame jokes, her brilliant smile and high fashions will be fond memories for all whom she touched with her larger than life personality and unbendable will to thrive! Her family, SO BLESSED to have her in their lives so many years beyond the average lifespan of us humans, will sorely miss her, as will the many people she knew, inspired and enveloped in the warmth of her loving arms. Rest IP Special thanks to Ada, Elissa and Blanca, the trio of sisters who cared for our beloved around the clock and allowed her to thrive independently until the very end of her life. We cannot thank you enough. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the organization of your choosing.

Faye Tucker

June 22, 1906 - September 15, 2015