Family and friends are remembering John Andrew Tucker III, former Florida Publishing Company president, as “a good man” and civic leader whose passion for golf was instrumental in the PGA Tour returning to the Jacksonville area.
Tucker, 93, of Jacksonville, Florida, passed away peacefully Dec. 30 in hospice care with his family at his bedside, his son-in-law, Rufus Dowell, told the Times-Union.
Tucker served as general manager then president of Florida Publishing Company, which included the Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville Journal and St. Augustine Record, from 1964 until retiring on Jan. 1, 1983, when Morris Communications bought the company.
An avid golfer, he championed the sport. Tucker leaves behind a legacy many say is intertwined with the PGA, especially TPC Sawgrass as well as other local golf clubs.
“John was like a second dad to me. He was just a good man … first and foremost,” said Dowell, noting compassion for others was chief amid his father-in-law’s virtues.
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“He was a very caring man. He reached out and helped innumerable people in Jacksonville struggling with addiction,” said Dowell, noting Tucker never sought the limelight for his actions to help others.
“He was a deeply religious man who cared and lived his life trying to always help others. There basically was nothing that he wouldn’t do for other people in his family or his community. He was very generous with his time and a very spiritual person. We believe God had him live to 93 because of the good works he was doing,” Dowell said.
Golf, a lifetime passion
Raised in Fort Pierce, Florida, he served in the Army Air Corps during the Korean War from 1951-1953. After being discharged from the Army, he enrolled in the University of Florida — graduating in 1956. Tucker later obtained a master’s degree in counseling from the University of North Florida, according to his obituary.
He worked as a district manager for Southern Bell Company for a number of years before going to Florida Publishing Company, his obituary also said.
After his wife, Eugenia, their seven children and their 23 grandchildren, golf was a huge part of Tucker’s life.
The last time Tucker played golf was in September with his oldest son, John “Tuck” Tucker IV at The First Tee-Brentwood Golf Course.
“He played nine holes and shot 39, which is very good,” Dowell said.
Tucker was the catalyst for the Greater Jacksonville Open (GJO) and The Player’s Championship, Dowell said.
The success of the GJO — launched in 1965 — convinced Deane Beman, then-PGA Tour commissioner, to bring the Players Championship and PGA Tour headquarters to Ponte Vedra Beach.
Tucker subsequently served as the first executive director of The Players.
He was the founder of good golf in Jacksonville,” longtime friend Duke Butler III, former PGA Tour player and tournament executive, told the Times-Union.
Butler said Tucker’s passion for golf was rooted in humble beginnings. While living in Fort Pierce he had caddied for a member of the Ponte Vedra Club, which he’d heard about throughout his youth.
At age 18, during his first weekend at Florida, Tucker dressed in his best golfing clothes, slung his clubs on his shoulder and with 85 cents in his pocket, hitchhiked from Gainesville to the Ponte Vedra Club.
Arriving about 10 a.m., he went into the golf shop and asked to play the course because he’d heard good things about it. Because he wasn’t a member, an assistant pro kicked him out. Undeterred, Tucker went outside and stood beneath a shade tree.
The head pro, who’d overheard the conversation in the pro shop, went out and told him that if he stayed put and didn’t bother anybody, he might be able to play in the afternoon.
“At 1:30 p.m. the pro got him out to play the great Ponte Vedra Club Ocean Course. And he played til 5:30 p.m.,” said Butler, adding that the pro then gave Tucker a ride to U.S. 1. From there Tucker caught a ride back to Gainesville.
At age 33, Tucker was working for Southern Bell when its chairman invited him to play golf with him at the Ponte Vedra Club. Tucker and the chairman played the course and defeated two of the chairman’s friends.
As a reward for that win, the chairman granted Tucker’s longtime wish of becoming a member of the Ponte Vedra Club, Butler said.
Tucker’s affable persistence and salesmanship ultimately led to his persuading Beman to move the PGA Tour and The Players to Ponte Vedra Beach in 1976.
“If it wasn’t for John Tucker and a couple of other folks in town, the Jacksonville Open never would have been here. And if the Jacksonville Open hadn’t been here, we never would have brought the TPC here. They had the tournament organization well organized and doing a get job for the community and that’s one of the things that attracted us,” Beman said.
Beman also said in his opinion, if The players hadn’t come to Jacksonville, it’s unlikely that Mayo Clinic Jacksonville and other major businesses would have followed suit.
In 2020, Tucker received the Deane Beman Award, established in 2015 to recognize individuals who have had significant long-term impacts on area golf. He was recognized for his work brining the GJO to the city and serving as its first general chairman.
Florida Times-Union writer Garry Smits contributed to this report.