Frederick A Tucei

Frederick  A. Tucei passed away at his home on Thursday, August 17, 2023, at the age of 105.

Fred was born in Biloxi, MS on February 13, 1918, to Joseph and Nancy Tucei.

 What an incredible life Fred Tucei lived. He served in the Army as a paratrooper during WWII with the 101st Airborne Division. The Lord had many more years planned ahead for Fred. He loved the water from an early age; building boats, fishing, crabbing, and shrimping were just a natural part of his life. 

Following his military service, Fred went to work at Ingalls Shipbuilding where he was a welder supervisor for several years. In 1945 he and his wife Hazel, opened Tucei's Fishing Camp. He was a likable person and was a natural engineer. He could build anything. He took great pride in his business and most of the clientele were repeat guests, and over the next 25 years became extended family. He sold the Fishing Camp and Marina in 1972 and after many years and many owners, he was proud to know it is once again going to open as a fishing camp. After his retirement, Fred in keeping with his love of life on the water, decided to build his own personally designed commercial shrimp boat, the Hazel T, which was christened in 1979. It is still shrimping today.

He has lived to see so many changes in the last 100-plus years; several wars, two of the most significant Hurricanes to hit the Mississippi Gulf Coast, technology and transportation transforming before his eyes, twenty-five presidents, and so much more. We were blessed as a family for his mind to be clear, sharing a lifetime of stories, working in his yard, making gumbo and pralines, sharing pecans, tomatoes, and oranges from his garden, always a refrigerator full of boiled crabs, and of course doing what he loved so much, fishing.

He loved being part of the Gautier Community; this Jackson County icon will be remembered and missed.

He was preceded in death by his parents and in 2004 his wife Hazel. He was the last of his siblings to pass away, preceded by J.B. Tucei, Lily Dick, Alma Cook, Inez Taylor, Valmae Howarth, Harry Tucei, Claire Breal, and many lifelong friends.

He is survived by two daughters; Sandra Commiskey (Michael) of Daphne, AL, and Linda Gandy (Kent) of Hattiesburg, MS; two grandchildren, Christy Curtis (Connor) and Ava Culpepper (Stephen); and two great-grandchildren, Claire Hazel and Charlie Curtis, and many nieces and nephews with whom he loved to share family and fishing stories. 

The Tucei Family would like to extend a special thanks to The Hospice of Light and to his caretaker Nakita Hart. In lieu of flowers, we ask that you contribute to St. Mary’s Catholic Church of Gautier or the First Baptist Church of Gautier.

Visitation will be Thursday, August 24th, 2023 from 10:00-11:30AM at St. Mary’s Catholic Church of Gautier, MS. Funeral Service to follow at 11:30AM. Interment will conclude at graveside at Gautier Historic Cemetery. Condolences maybe expressed online a www.obryantokeefe.com

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