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Rucker, James Robert

March 2, 1941 –
 July 23, 2019

Obituary

Jim was a loving man of faith, quirky and unique, and his GREATEST pride and joy was his family. He is survived by his wife Julie of 55 years. Jim and Julie have resided in Dallas since 1991. Jim leaves behind his youngest brother Douglas Rucker of Tulsa Oklahoma and 6 adored children: daughter Emily and Sid McClung, daughter Jennifer and John Davern, son David and Stephanie Rucker, son Daniel and Hannah Rucker, daughter Cathy and Ryan Horstman, and son Tony and Heather Rucker.  He is also survived by his 12 grandchildren: Matthew, Zachary, Ella, William, Anna, Faith, Ciana, Drew, Emery, Sadie, Call, and Covee. After he retired from 35 plus years in the oilfield, he was not short of hobbies.  He spent his free timing golfing, tinkering under the hood of a car, painting, collecting art, pottery and things. His grandchildren will miss him in the audience of their events, on the putting green, painting and crosswords at the kitchen table and at the stove preparing his famous biscuits and gravy. Jim now rests peacefully in his makers’ loving arms and will be dearly missed by those he left behind.   Services: Visitation – Tuesday, July 30 at 5pm – 7pm at Aria Funeral Home, 19310 Preston Road, Dallas, TX  75252 Funeral Mass – Wednesday, July 31 at 11:00am at All Saints Catholic Church, 5231 Meadowcreek Drive, Dallas, TX 75248.  Directly followed by Military Honors at 12:00pm.  And, a reception immediately following in the church hall. *Casual Dress attire*   If you will be sending flowers for the service, please send them to All Saints Catholic Church at 5231 Meadowcreek Drive, Dallas, TX 75248.   Please leave the family condolences and share memories on this website.  

Arrangements under the direction of:

Aria Cremation Service and Funeral Home

19310 Preston Road

Dallas, Texas 75252

(214) 306-6700

    Dick and Linda Wiesner
    27 Jul 2019
    12:19pm

    Jim, Julie and the entire Rucker family were very close friends when they lived in Houston. When Jim’s career sent them to Dallas a big hole was left in our lives! Memories: too many to mention but among the unique ones were Jim’s role each year as “Bayou Santa” as he dug up priceless Xmas gifts for the family from the Bayou next to our house. Also our great visits to Astros games as well as coaching our boys thru little league baseball. Never to be forgotten was Julie’s comment at our kitchen table when we played cards with the Howe’s. Basically Julie was overcome at the experience of meeting them and loudly stated she couldn’t believe meeting one of favorite Astros was happening. As for golf, no one enjoyed playing at his home course of Champions more than Jim and I was privileged to accompany him there many times. Jim was such a great guy and we are so very sad to know he is gone. Our best wishes to Julie and all Rucker’s. We hope our paths will cross in the near future.

    Veronica G. Gonzalez
    28 Jul 2019
    7:39am

    Words seem so feeble in moments like these. Please know that you and your family are in my prayers. I’m so sorry your having to go through this hard time. Love you both

    Henry
    29 Jul 2019
    9:52am

    Dear Jennifer, know that according to John 14:1-4: Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2-In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3-And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. 4-And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. My thoughts and prayers are to your Father who now rests in His presence, and for that we shall rejoice! God bless you and your family. Henry Orozco

    CHRIS JACKSON
    29 Jul 2019
    10:11am

    I’m so sorry for your loss of a great husband, father and grandfather…Jim was a great guy and I will miss him dearly as I know you all will. Jim taught me a lot of “oilfield” stuff over the years but he taught me more about life and friendship. I’m thankful God brought him into my life. Karen and I will be praying for you all…much love…

    Karen Shea
    29 Jul 2019
    2:07pm

    I am so sorry for your loss!

    Stephen & Lynsey Wu
    30 Jul 2019
    11:58am

    We are so sorry for the loss of a great sweet man who raised a wonderful family. We hope you find peace and comfort during this difficult time.

    Michael Scates
    30 Jul 2019
    6:54pm

    To Julie and all the kids and grandkids: I was stunned and so very sad to hear of Jim’s passing from you guys. I had the privilege of knowing Jim as a friend, in a professional capacity, and as a fellow golfer. We shared a lot of common experiences in our respective oilfield backgrounds. We had similar senses of humor and a number of mutual friends, too. I came to greatly respect Jim for his character, integrity and encyclopedic knowledge about a number of things in which we had common interests, and he served many times as a resource for me — and more than that — as a friend. He was a good listener, a good advisor, and a good man. Unlike a lot of people, one could discern very quickly that when he asked how you were doing, Jim genuinely cared. Jim is one of those select few people about whom I can honestly say that I am immensely richer for having known him. I will miss him so much. You are in my prayers and my deepest hope is that God will grant you and all who loved Jim that peace which transcends all earthly understanding.

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Testimonials

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"Excellent customer service, they made you feel like you were their only customer. Very helpful and explained what we should expect during the process. They basically took care of our needs during this time. They contacted DFW National Cemetery for us which made it a smooth experience. Definitely will use them again."
K. Barker
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"I was amazed how professional the team at Aria Funeral Preston Dallas Texas are. They guided me through the process and my options of their services that they offered for my mother. They are compassionate, caring, calm, good listener, efficient and did an excellent job! Thank you!"
R. Woll
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"If I could give 6 stars I would. Aria made a difficult easier to deal with by basically taking care of everything in an efficient but very empathetic manner. I can speak highly enough of Dusty Martin, who helped us with all of the planning and logistics. He was incredibly understanding and helpful."
Angel M.
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"Nothing prepares you for the grief you go through when losing a child. I called this funeral home at 2:00 am broken and could barely talk. The amount of compassion and empathy they showed me immediately let me know I found the right place to cremate my son. I cannot thank them enough for their professionalism, SINCERE concern, and commitment to making sure my son was honored in the most respectful way. I hope this Funeral home values her as much as my family and I do."
McGee Family
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"Wayne and Staff, thank you for taking care of the arrangements for our mom, Exter McGee and our dad, Philip McGee. You have been great to work with during such a difficult time."
Elledge Family
Elledge Family
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"On behalf of my family, I wanted you to know how much we appreciate your handling of my husband's final arrangements. Wayne Baxter assisted & guided us through the entire process with such care & compassion. Don't know what we would have done without him! Sincerely, Colleen Elledge"
The Peterson Family
The Peterson FamilyYelp! Review - Northwest Highway 5-Stars
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"I can’t say enough about how helpful and professional Dusty Martin, the funeral director at the Aria Cremation location on NW Highway has been. From my initial call, he was kind and informative. My friend died at home while on hospice and she was picked up in about an hour after receiving the call from the hospice nurse. The person who arrived to pick her up was also very professional/respectful and allowed us to take as much time with her as we wished. When I met with Dusty the next day about arrangements, he explained the process and options available without being pushy or trying to “sell” extras. Throughout the process, he kept me informed and, for example, was careful to be certain I understood the cost of the obituary I wanted and offered some options for reducing that cost if I wished. When I stopped by for another reason and started talking about some of the problems I was having with the pictures and media I hoped to use at a memorial lunch I was planning, he not only listened patiently but offered technology advice and let me use his personal media player. I have had experience arranging cremations for four others using two other local companies, and this experience with Dusty at Aria has been by far the best one I have had."
Paula Barnes
Paula BarnesGoogle Review
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"My Daddy’s service and our family experience at Aria Northwest Highway was truly blessed. Funeral Director Dustin Martin is the kind of person that you would like to see on a more regular basis – but in his industry – you hope to not see him that often. That being said – THANK YOU DUSTIN for your unending kindness, compassion and friendship through the process. Meeting you and discussing Dallas History, Find A Grave and my Dad’s lifelong contributions to the great City of Dallas was simply wonderful! In memory of my dad James A. Dodd, Sr. – I want to personally thank you and let you know that you made everything better in that moment. Your calling to “Be There” is spot on. Aria has a one in a million guy in you! Bling Blinky of TEXAS Shout Out: God Bless You!!"
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  1. If death has occurred and or is imminent, please call the Aria location nearest you.

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