“What is greatness? In a business it is Success. In a family it is Love. In a man it is Inspiration. However, the greatest of men have all three. This man inspired greatness, built success, and has earned the love of thousands. He is our Hero and for that we can never thank him enough. ‘The goal is not to live forever, the goal is to create something that will.’”

“I remember once, I stood with my arms crossed, and Phil uncrossed my arms and said, ‘now you are open for opportunities.’”

“I owe Phil Tucker more than I owe just about anybody else in this world. For 13 years he has been the steadiest of friends, a constant in my life that I could always count on. I don’t know where I would be if I hadn’t met him all those years ago but I know that I wouldn’t be here. His kindness and patience were infectious. He reminded me to not study so much. He made sure that I tackled the problems I thought were impossible. He might have talked a lot, but what he said was usually right and well worth listening to. He reminded me to have a bit fun, to put on that wig, to get up and dance to that song.”

“Were it not for Phil, I would not be here today, working on cutting edge autonomy and intelligence for robots and helping to make a part of West Virginia history, the state’s first spacecraft. I owe Phil more than I could ever repay for helping start me onto the path of becoming a capable engineer and he did so many great things to help advance science and engineering education in West Virginia and to inspire others. For all of these things, I wanted to do something truly unique to honor his memory... The NovAtel GPS receiver that will fly onboard the CubeSat STF-1 will now carry Phil Tucker’s initials into space.”

“No one else ever pushed me as hard in life with such a positive urgency. While life seemed to live on Phil time it was the only possible way to accomplish so many things and speak with so many yet still be able to have puppy time, give me everything I ever asked for and to watch cartoons & Big Bang before going to bed. The two of us were a team unstoppable. The best lesson you gave me emphasized the impact and day-changing mentality you can have on a person by giving them a few minutes of your day. You were able to see something in every individual you met, encouraging them in person, phone calls, and silly texts which allowed them to fulfill their dreams and lead the best version of their lives. While you were never able to say words against another person you truly surrounded yourself by the best people in every community you touched. The hardest thing I’ll do is learn to live without you. However I know that everyone you’ve touched will be here for me, showing me your impact for the rest of my life.
Your guiding hand on my shoulder will remain with me forever. “Never give up, never surrender”
as he always said. Phil Tucker has left the building.”

“I don’t know what exactly made that group of 12 students and a couple of mentors go from a team to a family, but I do know without a doubt that Phil Tucker was a crucial part it... Thank you Phil for looking out for us when we didn’t even know we needed looking out for, for reminding us what was important in life at times when it was easy to forget, always taking the time to teach us even when we struggled to learn, and loving us when weren’t that easy to love... I’ll miss you.
”

“I will dearly miss all of the phone calls with Phil, where he was trying to gather information related to MARS, shooting sports, potential jobs and internships, etc. I will miss all the times Phil gave the most goofy expressions for a snapshot with a team member, and I got to capture it. I will miss all the times that Phil was initially missing for the team pictures, and we had to scream ‘PHILLLLLLLL,’ hoping he was near enough to hear us.”

“I’m still waiting on his ‘static calls’ and phone calls in the most inconvenient times. I didn’t get to tell you enough the impact you had on me through my years of MARS and beyond, but Phil I want you to know that you mean the world to me.
”

“Thank you Phil. Thank you for changing my life, for helping me grow into the confident young woman I am, thank you for believing in me, even when I didn’t believe in myself, thank you for being the ‘cool’ mentor who jumped in the pool with us at Knoxville, who stayed up till midnight playing UNO with us, who ran out to the ocean at 11:00 at night after palmetto, thank you for the nights during build season where you stayed at White Hall until one, two, three, or even four the next morning, because if the students were excited to be there and working, so were you, thank you for the midnight donuts, and chili dogs and other miscellaneous late night snacks, thank you for teaching me that the most important part of a regional isn’t winning, it’s making sure everyone is on the field and playing, thank you for everything you have done and taught me.
”

“Phil was an inspiration to me and to our team (3824). A couple of years ago at the Smoky Mountains Regional, I asked Phil what his favorite moment of the season was so far. Without hesitation, he began to tell me about a hush puppy tossing/catching/eating contest that had developed rather spontaneously the night before at a local barbecue place during a team meal. Eventually the cooks brought out fresh game pieces so the contest could continue. He said that while MARS has banners, ribbons and trophies, and works hard to earn more, they also have fun. And he wouldn’t trade a hush puppy contest for any number of banners. ”