From Britta Piel, writing from her home in Berlin:
I got to know Tuck as my professor and Wayne as her husband - but both of them meant way more to me than this might indicate. When I decided, during an exchange year at UMSL, to apply to SLU’s Graduate Program in American Studies in 1999, I had missed any possible deadline, no funding to support me, and more or less no chance to realize the program at that point. And yet, Tuck, who then was Chair, saw potential, remembered me, and, when a scholarship became available during the summer, urged Larry Barmann (who had by then become Chair) to admit me and offer me the scholarship. Within three weeks of leaving the US for what I thought, for good, I was back in St. Louis, in the program I had dreamed about, and called myself graduate assistant to Tuck. It is therefore not an exaggeration to say that Tuck changed my course of life forever.
What is even more true, though , is that we became good friends during my time at SLU, and that we managed to stay in touch in the 20 years that have passed since my graduation. I have a subfolder named “Tuck” in my inbox, which is full of messages going back and forth, discussing family affairs, career changes, or the state of the world (in 2001, we still thought George W. Bush would be the worst to happen to US politics, and many of Tuck’s messages contained a long “grrrrrrrrrrrr”).
I came back to St. Louis a few times, last in 2010 for a conference, when I spent two wonderful days with your parents. And in 2005, during a trip to New England, we met in Maine. Tuck visited me in Aachen during one of her Maastricht trips, and from now on I will toast her every time I use the crystal glasses she brought as a gift (luckily, I use them a lot). As you know, I had planned to come to St. Louis in May 2020 for another conference and would have loved to visit your parents. It is heartbreaking to know that this door is now closed forever.
What I will remember most about your mother is her imperturbable humanity, which inspires me until today and which could be seen in anything she did. As Chair, she did not stick to bureaucratic regulations, but saw the person behind the story; as a teacher, she would carefully consider any opinion and weigh it against hers - undeniably much larger - knowledge and experience; her fervor in political things sprang from trying to make this world a better place. My world was certainly made better by knowing her and calling her a friend.
And what I will remember most about your father - whom I really know way less - are his hugs. And I really believe this says a lot about the person he was: he barely knew me, but a goodbye-hug gave me the feeling that he wished me all the protection and luck in the world, and that nothing could ever harm me again.
And this memory must come in here as well: had I ever married, I would have wanted a relationship like your parents. The respect and love they showed for each other, the keen curiosity in each other after all of these years, always impressed me, and would be an inspiration.
Your parents will be missed by many, and I wish you all the strength and love and faith you need to get through this hard time. I hope it gives you a little bit of consolation to know they were loved and will be missed by many all around the world.