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Golf Tournament In Memory of Zach Tucker Set For April 20

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By D'ANN LAWRENCE WHITE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 17, 2007

About six months after her 8-year-old son, Zachary, died from a brain tumor, someone gave Sherry Tucker a plaque bearing some comforting words that put everything into perspective.

The River Hills mother had already decided that her child's suffering would not be in vain, that he would want her and her husband, Dirk, to remember him by helping to fight the disease that claimed his life and by giving hope to other families.

"When you go through something like this, you have a choice," said Sherry Tucker. "You can bury yourself under the covers or you can try to make a difference and share what you've learned. We decided we wanted to share. Zachary touched so many people in so many different ways. It's our responsibility to make sure the lessons he taught us are passed on."

But it was the words on the plaque, presented to Tucker at a fundraiser for families struggling with cancer, that continue to give her strength as she approaches the one-year anniversary of her son's death May 9:

"God's purpose is always greater than your pain."

She said she knows there are reasons they lost Zach at such a young age. And perhaps the foundation she and her husband have now formed, the Giving Hope Through Faith Foundation, is one of those reasons.

During the months since Zach's death, the Tuckers thought about collaborating with other organizations that raise funds for families battling cancer.

"There are so many wonderful organizations out there but none of them quite fit," she said.
The Tuckers kept coming back to how their faith, their church, the Crossing Church, and their friends were so instrumental during their struggle.

"I don't know where we would be if we hadn't had our friends and our faith to lean on throughout all this," she said. "Our faith is so important to us so we knew the foundation had to be faith-based. We would never have made it through this journey without our faith and we would never have made it through the grief without knowing Zach has received the ultimate reward."

Sherry Tucker said the foundation's focus evolved over the 10 months since Zach's death.

However, it was Zach's Christmas stocking that eventually defined the foundation.

"It was tough getting his stocking out at Christmas," said Sherry. "Dirk and Lexi (Zach's older sister) said I should hang it. But seeing it hanging there empty really bothered me. So I decided to do a gift card drive and put gift cards in the stocking to distribute to families struggling with cancer."

She put a request in her Christmas cards and, within two weeks, had collected $4,000 in gift cards.

"It really touched our hearts," she said. "I thought how nice it would be to be able to help these families out all year, and that's how it all began."

The Giving Hope Through Faith Foundation selects families that are experiencing the same journey the Tuckers went through and sends them a monthly package containing gift cards, pertinent Scriptures and a personal letter written by Sherry.

Currently, five families are receiving packages through the foundation.

Among those who have received packages from the foundation is Anissa Mayhew whose 2 ½-year-old daughter, Peyton, is fighting leukemia.

"As I was walking out the door to get the kids from school, I looked through the mail and saw an envelope from a person I didn't recognize. I opened it and started to cry immediately. It was full of gift cards for gas, movies, meals and Wal-Mart," said Mayhew.

"The letter touched my heart, but the message behind it just humbled me in so many ways. This is a family who has lost so greatly and has turned that loss into a way to spread love and support and encouragement to others. They sent along a small verse booklet, and I was so moved to see that no matter how deep the grief, the Lord was able to use it in a powerfully positive way."

"So many families can use the extra help that the gift cards provide," said Tucker. "Like me, a lot of mothers have to quit working so they can care for their child and take them to all the doctor's appointments."

The foundation plans to spend $1,500 a year on each family.

The foundation will host its first fundraiser, the 2007 Zach Tucker Golf Scramble, April 20 at the Bloomingdale Golfers Club, 4113 Great Golfers Place, in Bloomingdale East, starting with a 1 p.m. shotgun start. The cost for individual players is $150 and the cost for foursomes is $500.

The foundation is also seeking sponsors and donations of raffle prizes. Mike Wilson, owner of the FishHawk Ranch Outback Steakhouse and a cancer survivor, is sponsoring a dinner after the tournament.

This is actually the second Zach Tucker Golf Scramble Joe and Debbie Brus have organized. The first took place last year and was intended to defray costs associated with Zach's battle against cancer.
Debbie Brus and Sherry Tucker formed a fast friendship years ago while walking their oldest children to the bus stop.

"When Zach was diagnosed, Debbie was my No. 1 organizer and cheerleader," said Tucker. "She was there every step of the way."

Joe Brus had experience organizing a golf tournament for a friend with leukemia when they lived in Atlanta and offered to put together the tournament for Zach. It proved so successful that it seemed natural to turn it into a foundation fundraiser.

In addition to working on their own foundation, Sherry Tucker is involved as a speaker with the Pediatric Cancer Foundation, a 15-year-old Tampa foundation started by two mothers to raise awareness and funds for pediatric cancer, and with the One Voice Project, which is attempting to unite all the pediatric cancer organizations under one umbrella to obtain more public and private funding.

In her free time, she is working on Chapter 12 of her book about her experiences as a mother with a child battling cancer.

"It's a painful process, but I want to encourage people and let them know they can get through this by leaning on people and faith," she said.

For information on the golf tournament, e-mail Debbie Brus at Debbie@teambrus.com. For information on the foundation, visit www.givinghopethroughfaith.org or contact Tucker at 685-6773 or sherry@givinghopethroughfaith.org.

D'Ann White is editor of The Brandon News

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