James Tucker:  

Life Hi there, this is James C. "Jim" Tucker, born 20 Jul 1949. I write this for clarification as there was another Jim Tucker - a year or two behind me at MBHS. I graduated in June,1967. I was blonde, he was the red haired one. We both played a little football for the Buccaneers. I recently retired (May, 2006) from the US National Park Service (NPS) after 35 years of US Government service. I worked my whole civilian career as a US Park Ranger(LE), mostly in Yosemite NP (YOSE), CA. I am married with 3 grown kids, my wife and I own our home, and we still love each other after 32 years together! I met her, Kim Torvinen, the Finnish-American daughter of a US Forest Service Ranger, in YOSE in 1974 where she was also working as a US Park Ranger (LE). We got married in June, 1978 in Reno by her uncle, who was a Nevada State Judge. She has a huge, extended family in the Reno/Carson City area. She grew up in little towns on the Mendocino NF, and gradutated HS in Corning, CA, a small town 2 hours north of Sacto. She inherited all the ethnic Finnish female traits of industriousness, ascertiveness and tenacity, but she is a sweetheart! She is a major quilter and knitter, an excellent cook and can shoot the eye out of the 10 ring at 25 yards with a handgun! Now that is a combination of skills, let me tell you! She has also told me what was on her mind, a time or two, during our "relationship!" Helli, our oldest child and daughter, was born in July, 1981. She graduated from Yosemite Valley School and Mariposa Co HS in 1999. She then attended Columbia CC in Sonora, Ca, and next transferred to CSU, Stanilaus, where she graduated with a BA in physical geography/GIS. She has been working near full time as an Emergency Services Dispatcher for YOSE while going to college. She's beautiful and is a spitfire. ("Dispatchers tell people where to go," the bumper sticker says!) She's a full-on Finnish female herself! Hanni, our youngest daughter and twin sister of our son, Cullen, was born in July, 1988. She's also very "independent," is a blue-eyed, blond cutie who iscurrently "assessing her options in life."She belongs to the Bank of Mom & Dad, but not for much longer. She's waitressing at the Sugar Pine and at Salvador's Mexican Restaurant, local restaurants in Mariposa during this life assessment period. She just moved in with her boyfriend, a 23 year old kid who looks like Sideshow Bob and has a lip ring. He and I are trying to learn to "communicate." Those of you who remember me are probably laughing your asses off right now! Maybe it will be funny in about 5 years. Our son Cullen, actually James Cullen Torvinen Tucker, is a stalwart member of the USCG. He's a Boatswain's Mate assigned to the CGC BOUTWELL, home-ported for now at Coast Guard Island, Alameda, CA, just 3 hours from home. The CGC BOUTWELL and Cullen left about six (6) weeks ago, 05 Jan 2009, for a six (6) month underway deployment to the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Aden. You can guess what they're looking for. Cullen was in the Youth Conservatiion Corps (YCC) in YOSE for 3 summers, then fought fire for the NPS for the last two months before boot camp. Good idea, he was in shape early. Now he is "cut!" The 1966 Buccaneers would have loved him. We are in the phone book in Mariposa. I would love to hear from old friends. School I attended Yosemite Elementary School in Yosemite Valley from Kindergarten until 7th grade. I briefly attended Bird Rock Elementary in La Jolla and Martha Farnum Elementary in Pacific Beach during the 6th grade as well as Yosemite Valley Elementary while my family was re-locating to San Diego. (Back and forth). At the start of the 7th grade, we then moved to San Diego permanently and I enrolled at PB Jr. HS, where I graduated in June, 1964, having attended for all 3 years. I briefly attended La Jolla HS during the fall of 1964 during the 10th grade, then transferred permanently to Mission Bay HS in late Oct., 1964. I graduated from MBHS in June, 1967. I attended UCSD for a quarter during the fall of 1967, didn't like it, dropped out, then enlisted in the US Army, going in on 5 Mar 68. (Just missed the Tet offensive). After the Army (4 years), I came back to SD, and went to Mesa CC for 2 1/2 years, worked part time at the Safeway in University City, dug ditches for my uncle - an independent building contractor - and as a seasonal ranger in YOSE, and then transferred to SDSU, fall of 1975. I graduated from SDSU, with a BA in Outdoor Recreation Administration, in Dec., 1976. I taught a 3 unit course entitled, "Law Enforcement in the Parks and Forests" at Columbia CC in Sonora, CA during the spring of 1977, and regularly taught criminal law subjects during annual in - service LE training refreshers in YOSE. College After graduating from MBHS in June, 1967, I was a work-study student that summer at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. I helped build a bunch of hydro-phone streamers for a marine geology research cruise. I went out on this cruise for 6 weeks on the RV Oconostota (The Rolling "O") off the coast of Northern CA. (I missed the Breitbart Game because I was out to sea, bummer)! I entered Revelle College at UCSD in the Fall of 1967 and finished a quarter. I didn't like the place, so I dropped out and enlisted in the US Army. That was a real education! After four years in the Army, I came home and went back to school at Mesa CC on the GI bill. I studied at Mesa for 2 1/2 years, working part time during the school year and full time during the summers at Yosemite NP as a seasonal US Park Ranger (LE). I then transferred to CSUSD, where I majored in the Outdoor Recreation Administratio...Expand for more