Tucker was one of my best friends since the 5th grade at Whitaker.He was very talented and did the art work for our 1962 annual.He was killed in a wreck in Mexico in July 1962.Gone way too soon. Mason Mitchell
TUCKER WAS A WONDERFUL, FRIENDLY PERSON. I WAS SO SHOCKED WHEN HE WAS KILLED IN THE BUS WRECK, AND WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HIM. MEMORIES HAVE FADED IN ALL THESE YEARS, BUT I DO REMEMBER HIM AS SUCH A WONDERFUL PERSON. MARY LOU BATES FLYNT
Tucker was a very dear and close friend of mine through school and church youth group. We often talked about what our futures would be and were excited about the college years that were in our immediate future. I was a part of the youth group that was in Mexico when he and three others in our group, including our director of Christian education, were tragically killed in the automobile accident. Such a loss! I'll always remember Tucker!
The following summary of Tucker's obituary was furnished us by classmate Starr Barnhardt Strickland who was on the trip to Mexico with Tucker and the other youths who were killed the the accident.
Thank you for posting the account of the accident in Mexico on Tucker's memorial page. One correction that should be made in your comments, however, is that it was an automobile accident, not a bus accident. As I wrote, the car in which Tucker and the others were riding crashed into the back of a truck that had no lights on. - -
Francis Tucker Kimball, was one of four people killed on July 24, 1962, near Mexico City, Mexico, when the car in which they were riding crashed into the back of a truck that was stopped on the roadway at night with no lights. Tucker was one of 14 people from Centenary Methodist Church in Winston-Salem, NC, who were participating in a Mexico Work Camp experience near Monterrey, Mexico. The group left Winston-Salem on June 20, traveling in two station wagons and one car, and had spent 4 weeks working with a group of Mexican youth in the building of Camp Sierra Linda, a camp for Methodist young people in northern Mexico. The group worked at the camp during the week and spent weekends in Monterrey and touring some nerby areas. When the accident occurred, the group was headed to southern Mexico where they were to spend another two weeks sight-seeing before returning to Winston-Salem.
Tucker had just graduated in June from R.J.Reynolds High School. He was born in Winston-Salem on February 4, 1943, to parents Leon and Francis Kimball. He had an older brother, Richard L. Kimball, Jr., who at the time of the accident lived in Pittsfield, MA, and a younger sister, Lynn, who was a student at RJR. Tucker was art editor of the school annual, "Black and Gold." He was a member of the Order of DeMolay, a model plane enthusiast and active in youth activities at Centenary Church where he was a member. He lived his whole life in Winston-Salem.
Susan Abernethy, a graduate of RJR and a student at Queens College, and Jimmy Smith, a rising senior at RJR, along with the Rev. Richard Hanner, Centenary's Director of Christian Education, were the other three persons who were killed. There were two people in the vehicle who survived the accident.
A joint funeral service was held at Centenary Methodist Church for Susan, Jimmy, and Tucker at 12:00 Noon on Monday, July 30, with their burials in Forsyth Memorial Park following the service. Richard Hanner was buried in his hometown of Asheville, NC, the following day, and a memorial service was held for him at Centenary Methodist Church on August 5.
I remember Tucker. I remember Tucker's sparkly eyes, behind those glasses. I remember his big smile--he liked everyone, and everyone liked him. I remember the memorial service like it was yesterday. I was in the balcony on the left side. It was the first time I came face to face with my own mortality. Young people were not supposed to die...but they did, That day I realized the responsibility I had for my own future and the care I must take of it. I remember Tucker, I learned so much from him.
Tucker and I had been dating since our senior year. We were excited about the plans we had made for our future. He had just called me from Mexico the night before the accident. I can remember getting the phone call about his death as if it were yesterday. The funeral was so crowded that the sanctuary was full and the overflow was listening in the room below over the loud speaker. I rode with the Kimball family in their car and the streets downtown were lined with people who had come outside to offer their condolences. It was a tragedy that affected the whole city.
Tucker was the sweetest and most loving person and is still missed.
I had some extra time today and did something out of the ordinary. I went to the memorial sight on our Reynolds High School website and read the obituaries of every deceased classmate of ours. Many of you are probably questioning my motive and thinking I must be a bit weird to want to do something so morbid, but it was a very rewarding experience. Yes, I was inquisitive, but I felt an obligation to give them the tribute that they deserved. As I looked at each face, I remembered them then and had such positive feelings about those young lives ready to embark on an unknown journey. Unfortunately, they have ended their travels, but not without leaving their mark. When I got to Tucker Kimbel, I remembered vividly where I was when I heard that tragic news of his death. On my way back from Lake Hickory after a fun day of water skiing, I heard my music interrupted, to give us the details of that tragic accident in Mexico where Tucker and others were killed in an accident when they hit an unlit, parked truck in the middle of the road. Others were in the car too, and we were crushed and pulled over on the side of the road and cried with an unknown pain. It was an awakening for all of us. We loved and admired Tucker and had just seen him at graduation, and now he was gone ...
Tucker lived just down the street from me so it was always very easy to walk to his house. We were good friends from the 7th grade until his death. He taught me a lot about model airplanes because I was very impatient. He would glue the tiniest parts together and I always got tons of glue on my hands.
In the winter when it snowed we would sled on Roslyn Road until we were exhausted. When it was cold outside and there was no snow we would cook dinner in aluminum foil (vegetables and ground beef) in the hot coals in the fireplace in his basement. We often burned our dinner but we ate it anyway. Over the years we became better cooks. His father worked at the dairy so we had lots of ice cream for dessert.
His untimely death has haunted me over the years and I have missed him. He was such a fine person and I always admired him.
Tucker was such a good person; it was a shock to hear of the accident that took his life. He had so much ahead, so much to look forward to. I remember most his kindness, when the teasing got to be too much he always would say something to make me feel better. He will always be remembered fondly by those who were lucky enough to have known him.
Mason Mitchell
Tucker was one of my best friends since the 5th grade at Whitaker.He was very talented and did the art work for our 1962 annual.He was killed in a wreck in Mexico in July 1962.Gone way too soon. Mason Mitchell
Mary Lou Bates (Flynt)
TUCKER WAS A WONDERFUL, FRIENDLY PERSON. I WAS SO SHOCKED WHEN HE WAS KILLED IN THE BUS WRECK, AND WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HIM. MEMORIES HAVE FADED IN ALL THESE YEARS, BUT I DO REMEMBER HIM AS SUCH A WONDERFUL PERSON. MARY LOU BATES FLYNT
Starr Barnhardt (Strickland)
Tucker was a very dear and close friend of mine through school and church youth group. We often talked about what our futures would be and were excited about the college years that were in our immediate future. I was a part of the youth group that was in Mexico when he and three others in our group, including our director of Christian education, were tragically killed in the automobile accident. Such a loss! I'll always remember Tucker!
Danny T. Ferguson
The following summary of Tucker's obituary was furnished us by classmate Starr Barnhardt Strickland who was on the trip to Mexico with Tucker and the other youths who were killed the the accident.
05/06/12 12:06 AM
05/06/12 09:38 AM
Thank you Starr for this information. Danny Ferguson.
Patricia Jones (Hay)
I remember Tucker. I remember Tucker's sparkly eyes, behind those glasses. I remember his big smile--he liked everyone, and everyone liked him. I remember the memorial service like it was yesterday. I was in the balcony on the left side. It was the first time I came face to face with my own mortality. Young people were not supposed to die...but they did, That day I realized the responsibility I had for my own future and the care I must take of it. I remember Tucker, I learned so much from him.
Carolyn Vaughn (Masters)
Tucker and I had been dating since our senior year. We were excited about the plans we had made for our future. He had just called me from Mexico the night before the accident. I can remember getting the phone call about his death as if it were yesterday. The funeral was so crowded that the sanctuary was full and the overflow was listening in the room below over the loud speaker. I rode with the Kimball family in their car and the streets downtown were lined with people who had come outside to offer their condolences. It was a tragedy that affected the whole city.
Tucker was the sweetest and most loving person and is still missed.
Carolyn Vaughn Masters
Pam Bain (Davis)
I had some extra time today and did something out of the ordinary. I went to the memorial sight on our Reynolds High School website and read the obituaries of every deceased classmate of ours. Many of you are probably questioning my motive and thinking I must be a bit weird to want to do something so morbid, but it was a very rewarding experience. Yes, I was inquisitive, but I felt an obligation to give them the tribute that they deserved. As I looked at each face, I remembered them then and had such positive feelings about those young lives ready to embark on an unknown journey. Unfortunately, they have ended their travels, but not without leaving their mark. When I got to Tucker Kimbel, I remembered vividly where I was when I heard that tragic news of his death. On my way back from Lake Hickory after a fun day of water skiing, I heard my music interrupted, to give us the details of that tragic accident in Mexico where Tucker and others were killed in an accident when they hit an unlit, parked truck in the middle of the road. Others were in the car too, and we were crushed and pulled over on the side of the road and cried with an unknown pain. It was an awakening for all of us. We loved and admired Tucker and had just seen him at graduation, and now he was gone ...P. Grant Harmon
Tucker lived just down the street from me so it was always very easy to walk to his house. We were good friends from the 7th grade until his death. He taught me a lot about model airplanes because I was very impatient. He would glue the tiniest parts together and I always got tons of glue on my hands.
In the winter when it snowed we would sled on Roslyn Road until we were exhausted. When it was cold outside and there was no snow we would cook dinner in aluminum foil (vegetables and ground beef) in the hot coals in the fireplace in his basement. We often burned our dinner but we ate it anyway. Over the years we became better cooks. His father worked at the dairy so we had lots of ice cream for dessert.
His untimely death has haunted me over the years and I have missed him. He was such a fine person and I always admired him.
Rest in peace
Terryll J. Brewer (Gilliam)
Tucker was such a good person; it was a shock to hear of the accident that took his life. He had so much ahead, so much to look forward to. I remember most his kindness, when the teasing got to be too much he always would say something to make me feel better. He will always be remembered fondly by those who were lucky enough to have known him.