Lake Forest High School Grad Dies at 65

Mary Tuckey Requa, of Phelps, Wis., died Dec. 16 at home. She was 65.

Originally of Lake Forest, Tuckey graduated from Lake Forest High School in 1966. She attended Marjorie Webster Junior College in Washington, D.C., and continued to reside in Maryland for 34 years.

Tuckey worked for VIVA, the organization that sold bracelets to remind Americans of the Viet Nam POWs and for Close-Up Foundation which brings high school students to D.C.

For 20 years, Tuckey worked in theater administration, for Harlequin Dinner Theatre and NETworks, a theatrical production company which produces national tours of Broadway shows. She went from box office to indispensable IT specialist. She regularly sang in their Friday night cabarets.

She was fluent in Spanish and American Sign Language, which she used as a volunteer at the Gallaudet high school theater program. She was a great slow pitch softball player. 

Tuckey had a beautiful alto voice. She was a member of the DC Area Feminist Chorus, the Lesbian and Gay Chorus of Washington, D.C., and the Not What You Think ensemble. She played guitar all her life including opening for Steve Goodman in Chicago. She loved nothing more than singing harmonies with friends. She played in a couple of girl bands in Maryland, including the Tom Boys.

In 2005, Tuckey moved to Phelps and became the computer technician for the Phelps School District. She began designing websites for local businesses through her Nakapaglaja Web Design. She cohosted the WXPR Wednesday afternoon radio show, “Your Favorites”, with her father Charley from 2005-2011 and was the vice-chair of the WXPR Board of Directors. She was devoted to both Phelps and Long Lake and volunteered countless hours for the Long Lake of Phelps Lake Association and the Phelps Chamber of Commerce. 

Tuckey is survived by her father, Charley Requa; brother Patrick Requa; sister–in-law Martha Requa; step-siblings Jan and Dale Engberg, and Susan Engberg;  nieces Polly Requa and Marny Requa (Tim Cunningham); and nephew Marc Engberg. She is also survived by grandnieces Ellie and Amanda Duchow and Cara Cunningham, grandnephews Oisin Cunningham and Jason Engberg, and many loving cousins and so many friends. Tuckey is preceded in death by her mother Mary Requa, her step-mother, Norma Engberg Requa and her brother Chuck Requa.

Memorials can be sent to Patrick Requa P.O. Box 836, Antioch, IL 60002. They will be used to establish an osprey nest on Long Lake or the Phelps School District, Phelps, WI 54554. A service and celebration will be held next summer at Hazen Inn, Phelps, Wis.