Elizabeth Austin Tucker died suddenly on Aug. 4. She was 76.
Elizabeth Tucker, 76, died Aug. 6. Her funeral, which will be live-streamed, will start at 2 p.m., Monday, Aug. 16.
A native of Richmond, she was the daughter of Elizabeth Sloan Tucker Cann and Beverley Randolph Tucker Jr., and the step-daughter of John Pearce Cann, Jr.
Austin, a/k/a “Mom” and “Gigi,” cherished extended family on both her mother’s and father’s sides. She dreamed of travel to visit ancestral sites and to identify distant relations, especially in Scotland. She was joyful and energetic in her love and devotion and relished sharing stories about her family.
She studied at Collegiate School and at La Chatelanie in Switzerland. She worked for a local travel agency before entering bank marketing in Richmond and Houston. Returning home, she launched an interior design career in which her gifts and her love of people blossomed. She extended her design work while living in Connecticut for 12 years, then brought her talents back to Richmond.
Simply living in different places was not enough. She loved to travel, her treks encompassing portions of Latin America, Asia, Africa, Europe, and, above all, the Middle East. A recent journey with Sloan to the Grand Canyon and along the Colorado River opened a new volume of fascinating stories.
But true refreshment meant the beach where she could swim happily or just sit and read. For over 10 years she doted on a small cottage in the Bahamas until Hurricane Dorian destroyed it in 2019.
Her thoughts never completely left home. Austin possessed immense energy and creativity for civic organizations, especially the Junior League and the Woman’s Club. She also was a member of the Colonial Dames and participated in various charitable efforts.
A devout Christian and life-long Episcopalian, she was especially active at St. Stephen’s Church, Richmond, and St. Luke’s Church, Darien, Connecticut. She regularly found ways to deepen her faith. She saw life as a wondrous spiritual journey.
Beyond the details of a life beautifully lived, there must be an indelible record of Austin’s focus, of the core purposes which she embraced. As Sloan, recalls, Austin saw her life’s work as serving people by creating beautiful spaces where they felt at home. She lived to create homes that gave comfort and were authentic for her clients. She could piece together the parts and desires of her clients’ lives, weaving them into a wondrous tapestry called home.
Her own homes inevitably were beautiful in various ways. They were joyful, peaceful, unique, loving, fun, funky, and even outrageous. They also could be safe places to weather life’s storms and to find care. She filled her homes with family and friends, adopted families, dogs, neighbors, strangers. She welcomed all. Austin always had a place, an ear, even a shoulder, and time. She never lacked love to give.
Her family knows that home is more than a structure. Austin/Mom/Gigi was the home. She embodied its meaning. Her love, her energy, her resounding laugh, can never die. We have been blessed by her and thank God for her life.
Preceded in death by a brother, Beverley Randolph Tucker, III, she is survived by another brother, Thomas Tudor Tucker and his wife, Marguerite. She also is survived by her husband, William Lewis Sachs; her daughter, Elizabeth Sloan Smith; and her grandsons: Thomas Turner Bruneau and Austin Boyd Bruneau, for whom she was their beloved “Gigi.”
Her sister-in-law, Mary Madelyn Tucker; and niece, Robin Tucker Smith; as well as Robin’s husband, Andrew; and their children, Tucker and Madeleine, also survive.
Her life will be celebrated at 2 p.m., Monday, Aug. 16, 2021 at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 6000 Grove Ave., Richmond, Virginia. A reception will follow at the Country Club of Virginia. Interment will be private. The church service will be live-streamed here.
Help us to honor Austin further by considering a gift in her memory to: Threshold Community Program, 3516 Covington Hwy., Decatur, GA 30032; St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 6000 Grove Ave., Richmond, VA 23226; or, The Cheetah Conservation Fund, P. O. Box 2496, Alexandria, VA 22301.
— an obituary from Bennett Funeral Homes, where online condolences may be left