Reta Taylor Rucker
February 28, 1938 – September 16, 2019
BOWIE – Reta Taylor Rucker, 81, passed away on Sept. 16, 2019 surrounded by her loving family and her pastor.
A visitation will be from 5-6 p.m. on Sept. 19 at Lunn’s Colonial Funeral Home.
A service will be at 11 a.m. on Sept. 20 at Floral Height United Methodist Church. Burial will be at 3 p.m. in Elmwood Cemetery.
She was born on Feb. 28, 1938 in Bowie to Clois and Elgin Taylor. Reta graduated from Bowie High School where she was a member of the Jackrabbit Band for all four years. She was a majorette for three years and was drum major her senior year.
While at Midwestern State University she was a majorette for the Indians Marching Band. In the summer of 1959, she married her high school sweetheart and love of her life, Ronnie, and moved to Lubbock where he was in architectural school. While Reta was also studying at Texas Tech, their only daughter, Ronna was born in 1961. Upon graduation, they moved to Wichita Falls.
Reta became part of the Wichita Falls Community by joining the Junior League and loved her time as provisional chairman. She had a love for ballet and would teach the girls in an after school program at the Southside Girls Club. She later became the president of the Wichita Falls Ballet League.
Reta helped establish and volunteered at the Listening Ears for the Blind. She was also a member of Senior Junior Forum and was the Junior Forum Sponsor, Ronna’s junior and senior year.
She and Ronnie spent a majority of their time on the road with Ronna as she played junior tennis and later with the Wichita Falls High School tennis team. Those are memories that she always treasured. Reta loved spending summers in Crested Butte and became an avid skier during the winters with her family and many Wichita Falls friends.
When Ronna and Brad married, she got so much joy in planning their wedding, that afterwards, she began planning weddings for others. She treasured her time with all of the brides. She also became a registered interior designer. She was very creative and had impeccable taste.
Reta adored Ronnie and she knew that he adored her. Family was number one and that was when she was the happiest. Brad became the son she never had. Russell was born in 1986 and she became known as Grandmommie. They had such a special bond from the time he was born. She could tell you stories about him for hours. When Russell married Gina, she became one of her own. She was looking so forward to being a Great Grandmommie.
Reta’s laughter was contagious and will live on forever. We will never forget how much she loved us or how proud she was, because she told us all of the time. Just about daily.
Reta was proceeded in death by her granddaughter, Allie Taylor Prickett; her parents; sister , Mary Taylor Deaver and nephew, Kent Deaver.
She is survived by her husband, Ronnie Rucker; daughter, Ronna Prickett and husband Brad; grandson, Russell Prickett and wife Gina; two sisters, Treva Taylor and Kay Power; a brother, Max Taylor; nephew, Keith Deaver; and nieces, Courtney Power, Paige Gratehouse and Carrie Rambo.
Memorials can be made to Floral Heights United Methodist Church and the Wichita Falls Area Food Bank.
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