[3] Tucker was born in Winfield, Kansas, graduated from Battle Creek Central High School in Battle Creek, Michigan, and received a bachelor's degree from Michigan State University.

[2] She was a teacher in the Lexington and Andover Public Schools prior to entering politics.

[4] Tucker served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1983 to 1991, in the Senate from 1999 to 2011, representing the district of Second Essex and Middlesex which includes Lawrence and Andover in Essex County and Dracut and Tewksbury in Middlesex County.

[4] On April 11, 2014, Tucker endorsed Don Berwick for Governor of Massachusetts.

She was survived by her husband of 57 years, Mike Tucker, and predeceased by her two sons.