A bus driver found Arthur Tucker by the side of a road, and the driver was stunned to learn he knew Tucker.
Arthur T. Tucker, who died April 8 and was buried Tuesday.SPRINGFIELD – Hymns and a brief prayer were part of the farewell Tuesday at a burial ceremony for a man found dying March 31 on a roadside at Holyoke Community College.
Arthur T. Tucker, 72, was buried after a 2 p.m. service at Oakgrove Cemetery on Bay Street.
“Finally, we were able, through God’s grace, to get him interred in the ground,” said Juan J. Gonzalez, of Springfield, a friend of Tucker’s.
“It saddens me that he’s gone. But it gives me hope for humanity to see, no matter what’s going on in the world, there is still generosity,” Gonzalez said.
State police determined Tucker’s death on April 8 from multiple head trauma was an accident, possibly from Tucker’s having fallen off a ridge 20 feet to the rocky ground below.
State police and friends were unable to find any Tucker family members, which means his body was held at the medical examiner’s office at Providence Hospital here for weeks.
The burial service for Tucker was the result of friends wanting to ensure he received a heartfelt send-off, as well as a series of donated services.
Messier Funeral Home here provided the transportation, service and casket, Funeral Director Michael A. Usher said.
Golden Blossom, of Chicopee, provided flowers. Keating Wilbert Vault Co., of Wilbraham, donated the concrete plot liner. John A. Huffman, Oakgrove Cemetery superintendent, provided plot and grave opening at a reduced cost, Usher said.
Messier decided to donate its $7,500 in services after reading about Tucker in The Republican and on MassLive.com , he said.
“We donated our services. If we get any reimbursement from donations, all well and good. We can’t do this every day, but we try to help as much as we can,” Usher said.
Among those who attended Tucker’s burial were friends William P. MacDonald, a lawyer, and Gonzalez, a bus driver.
Gonzalez remains stunned at being the one who happened to find Tucker, a frequent bus rider he’d become friends with. Tucker was on the ground across from HCC’s Parking Lot A.
At the service, Usher said a prayer and Gonzalez sang some hymns.
“It’s always nice to have something happen that’s not bad news,” Usher said.
Tucker was renting a room in a house on Homestead Avenue across from HCC. But he also moved around a lot, keeping the story of his roots and family to himself because those who knew him said they knew little about where he came from.