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State of Arkansas 1
95th General Assembly 2
Regular Session, 2025 HMR 1004 3
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By: Representatives Steele, F. Allen, Barnes, Joey Carr, Clowney, A. Collins, Dalby, Ennett, D. Garner, 5
Gonzales Worthen, Henley, Holcomb, Hudson, McCullough, McGruder, J. Richardson, T. Shephard, M. 6
Shepherd, Steimel, Warren, Wing 7
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HOUSE MEMORIAL RESOLUTION 10
IN RESPECTFUL MEMORY OF FORMER ARKANSAS ATTORNEY 11
GENERAL, UNITED STATES CONGRESSMAN, AND FORTY -THIRD 12
GOVERNOR OF ARKANSAS JAMES "JIM" GUY TUCKER FOR HIS 13
SERVICE TO THE NATION AND TO THE STATE OF ARKANSAS. 14
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Subtitle 17
IN RESPECTFUL MEMORY OF FORMER ARKANSAS 18
ATTORNEY GENERAL, UNITED STATES 19
CONGRESSMAN, AND FORTY -THIRD GOVERNOR OF 20
ARKANSAS JAMES "JIM" GUY TUCKER FOR HIS 21
SERVICE TO THE NATION AND TO THE STATE 22
OF ARKANSAS. 23
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WHEREAS, former Arkansas Attorney General, United States Congressman, 25
and forty-third Governor of Arkansas James "Jim" Guy Tucker, formerly of 26
Little Rock, passed away Thursday, February 13, 2025, at the age of eighty -27
one (81); and 28
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WHEREAS, former Governor Tucker was born June 13, 1943, in Oklahoma 30
City, Oklahoma, as one (1) of three (3) children, and in 1945 the family 31
moved back to Arkansas where his parents had been born; and 32
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WHEREAS, former Governor Tucker was raised in a modest brick home on 34
Stonewall Road in Little Rock in a neighborhood today known as the Heights, 35
and where Tucker once recalled having seen horses and buggies tethered to a 36 HMR1004
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"hitchin' rail" in front of the local hardware store; and 1
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WHEREAS, former Governor Tucker's paternal grandfather was the city 3
marshal in El Dorado, his maternal grandfather was the White County Judge, 4
and his father was a World War I veteran and an Arkansas state auditor and 5
later manager of the state's Social Security system, and his mother was a 6
college graduate who owned Merle Norman Cosmetics studios in central Arkansas 7
in order to pay for her son's college education; and 8
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WHEREAS, other formative experiences for former Governor Tucker 10
included becoming an Eagle Scout, learning to play guitar, being a pole 11
vaulter and a football player, and becoming involved in student affairs; and 12
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WHEREAS, former Governor Tucker was awoken from sleep on the night of 14
March 31, 1960, when a B -47 bomber exploded in the air over Little Rock, 15
killing three (3) crew members in addition to two (2) fatalities on the 16
ground as the wreckage landed in the Hillcrest neighborhood, and this made a 17
deep impression on the teenaged Tucker; and 18
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WHEREAS, former Governor Tucker attended Harvard University in Boston, 20
Massachusetts, beginning in the autumn of 1961, a time during which Tucker 21
was also diagnosed with the ulcerative colitis that would, years later, lead 22
to colon cancer and the need for a liver transplant; and 23
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WHEREAS, during the summer of 1963, former Governor Tucker worked for 25
United States Senator John McClellan in Washington, D.C., and that summer 26
Tucker met United States Attorney General Robert Kennedy and watched the 27
Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., give his famous "I Have a Dream" speech on 28
the steps of the Lincoln Memorial; and 29
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WHEREAS, former Governor Tucker graduated in the spring of 1964 from 31
Harvard University with a bachelor's degree in government, then immediately 32
joined the United States Marines, but he was discharged within three (3) 33
months because of his increasingly serious health issues, so Tucker turned 34
his focus to helping former Governor Winthrop "Win" Rockefeller during 35
Rockefeller's campaign for governor; and 36 HMR1004
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1
WHEREAS, in 1965 and 1967, former Governor Tucker went to Vietnam to 2
cover the war as a journalist, corresponding with ABC News and several 3
Arkansas newspapers, including the Arkansas Democrat; and 4
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WHEREAS, in 1968, former Governor Tucker graduated from the University 6
of Arkansas at Fayetteville School of Law, having earned his Juris Doctorate 7
while taking some time to teach at American University in Beirut, and he then 8
went to work for the Rose Law Firm in Little Rock; and 9
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WHEREAS, in March 1970, former Governor Tucker went undercover for 11
thirty-six (36) hours as a prisoner at the Cummins Unit at the request of the 12
Chair of the Board of Corrections and successfully uncovered elements of the 13
corruption that was rumored to exist there at that time; and 14
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WHEREAS, later in 1970, former Governor Tucker won the office of 16
prosecuting attorney for Pulaski and Perry counties; and 17
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WHEREAS, in 1972, former Governor Tucker was elected to the office of 19
Attorney General of Arkansas, where he formed a commission to create 20
Arkansas's criminal law; and 21
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WHEREAS, in 1972, former Governor Tucker met teacher Betty Allen 23
Alworth, married her in 1975, and treated her two (2) children "as his own 24
children right from the get -go" according to his stepson, and he had two (2) 25
more children with Alworth; and 26
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WHEREAS, in 1976, former Governor Tucker was elected to the United 28
States Congress and was appointed to the House Ways and Means Committee, the 29
Social Security Subcommittee, and a special task force on welfare reform; and 30
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WHEREAS, former Governor Tucker returned to private practice in 1979 32
before running for Governor of Arkansas in 1982, losing to his personal 33
friend and political rival William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton; and 34
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WHEREAS, in 1990, former Governor Tucker was elected Lieutenant 36 HMR1004
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Governor, and then became acting Governor in 1991 as then -Governor William 1
Jefferson "Bill" Clinton began his ultimately successful campaign to become 2
President of the United States; and 3
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WHEREAS, while former Governor Tucker was in office as Governor of the 5
State of Arkansas, he worked diligently to improve Arkansas's prison system, 6
signed into law the Arkansas Civil Rights Act of 1993, and sought to increase 7
money for education without raising taxes; and 8
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WHEREAS, former Governor Tucker was reelected as Governor in 1994, and 10
Tucker eventually stepped down as Governor; and 11
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WHEREAS, former Governor Michael Dale "Mike" Huckabee became Governor 13
after former Governor Tucker stepped down, and Huckabee said of Tucker, "I 14
will remember that we worked together when it was best for the state. . . I 15
had great respect for his overcoming many health challenges so he could 16
continue to serve the state he truly loved"; and 17
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WHEREAS, former President of the United States William Jefferson "Bill" 19
Clinton said of former Governor Tucker, "Jim Guy was a good and honorable man 20
and a good citizen who bore life's setbacks, including his health challenges, 21
with dignity and determination"; and 22
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WHEREAS, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders said of former Governor 24
Tucker, "Jim Guy was part of a generation of larger -than-life Arkansans who 25
dominated Arkansas's political life when I was growing up and had an 26
immeasurable impact on our state"; and 27
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WHEREAS, Representative Tracy Steele worked on former Governor Tucker's 29
staff, and Representative Steele described former Governor Tucker as "a good 30
man to work for"; and 31
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WHEREAS, former Governor Tucker was known for his charisma and 33
intelligence, both of which enabled him to work well with both parties during 34
his many years of service as a political leader; and 35
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WHEREAS, while former Governor Tucker was committed to improving the 1
lives of all Arkansans, he was also well -known for being a devoted father, 2
grandfather, mentor, and friend; and 3
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WHEREAS, former Governor Tucker is survived by his wife, Betty Allen 5
Tucker, stepson Lance Alworth, Jr., stepdaughter Kelly Driscoll, and 6
daughters Anna Ashton and Sarah Tucker, 7
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NOW THEREFORE, 9
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY -FIFTH GENERAL 10
ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 11
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THAT the House of Representatives remember former Arkansas Attorney 13
General, United States Congressman, and forty -third Governor of Arkansas 14
James "Jim" Guy Tucker for his service to the nation and to the State of 15
Arkansas. 16
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT upon adoption, a copy of this resolution be 18
presented to the family of former Governor James "Jim" Guy Tucker by the 19
Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives. 20
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