Tasteful and classic holiday décor creates an endearing Christmas spirit at Terri and Randy Tucker’s. Their Riverview residence boasts a charm and sense of comfort where friends and family can gather and share warm tidings and blessings of the season.
Randy, who has served as s headmaster at Girls Preparatory School since 1987, is the first ever to live in the newly constructed Founders’ House, a house boasting 5,600 square feet of living space including four bedrooms and four and a half baths. Designated as the residence for the school’s headmaster and his family, the Founders’ House first became a project idea 15 years ago when the school’s board of trustees concluded that GPS needed a place where the “school community” could gather.
Events like reunions, faculty parties, and board gatherings, which were once held on campus or at hotels and other venues, can now be held at the house which is named in honor of the three women who founded the school in 1906 – Eula Lea Jarnagin, Tommie Payne Duffy, and Grace Elizabeth McCallie, all of whom were unwed schoolteachers who remained passionate and committed to educating Chattanooga’s youth.
Randy says he and Terri hosted over 20 parties in 2006 with as many as 250 guests in on gathering to as few as 10. “We may have a team over after a big athletic event, or a cast party for the spring musical,” Randy says, adding that the house belongs to GPS and is an extension of the school.
Terri also plays a big role at GPS. She coaches the school’s cheerleaders and has for nearly 20 years. “Before the last exam in December, it is a tradition for the GPS/McCallie cheerleaders (the Blue Crew) to have their Christmas party at our house. Randy and I always love having the kids at our house. That is one of our favorite traditions.”
The couple’s traditional holiday tastes are reflected in the house’s natural subtleties such as fresh greenery, large glossy magnolia leaves, and poinsettias along with Christmas favorites like angels, red bows, wreaths, and garland. Terri displays an array of candles throughout the home and she and Randy ease into the spirit of the season by listening to classic Christmas carols. Their 8-foot Christmas tree features white lights and sentimental ornaments that include their children’s childhood creations. “The ornaments on our tree are a collection from many years,” Terri saying, noting how each ornament rouses its own fond memory.
Garland spiraling the banister leading up to the second level provides visual elegance in the spacious entranceway; the Tuckers display their devotion to Christ and their faith through a white porcelain nativity scene in the foyer. Other details include numerous angel ornaments hanging from their tree as well as an angel tree topper.
With two open and expansive wraparound porches purposely enlarged to accommodate sizable crowds, along with a calming view of the Tennessee River and Lookout Mountain in the distance, the house makes an ideal setting for entertaining, especially during the holidays. “We have dear friends in Chattanooga and we love our holiday time with them,” Terri adds of hosting gatherings with close friends. “We eat, visit, and watch football.”
According to the home’s designer, Bob Franklin, of Franklin and Associates, the inclusion of 75 clad wood double hung windows allowed more natural light to enter the house and gave residents a chance to admire the scenic views. Franklin adds that the home’s architecture is in keeping with the diversity of the Riverview homes in Chattanooga; he says its white hardiplank siding make it “friendly and welcoming without being overbearing” and “the house has a strong presence without being a dominant structure visually.”
The Tuckers moved into the spacious and quaint low country style home off McFarland Avenue in September 2006 after a year-long construction period guided by GPS’s board of trustees. Randy notes that although the idea of the house arose long ago, construction began only recently because the board had not yet found property where they wanted the structure built.
“This piece of property was donated to the school,” Randy says of the private lot that overlooks the Tennessee River and is conveniently located within walking distance of the campus. The tract of land had originally been purchased by Bill Ragland, a Chattanoogan whose wife and daughters had attended GPS. He ultimately donated the land to GPS and the school’s board immediately recognized the spot as the ideal location for the first-ever Founders’ House.
While Bob Franklin masterminded the home’s design, BEC Development and builder Oscar Brock worked tirelessly to build the home to Franklin’s specifications that were approved by the school’s board of trustees. Patrick Daverson, the superintendent on the construction site, shepherded the project – managing all aspects including everything from rewiring the home to paving the driveway.
“As for our design intent,” Franklin says, “we really wanted the house to have a traditional feel that was reminiscent of the turn of the century to 1920’s homes built in Riverview. He says that he and his team spent a great deal of time studying the proportions of columns, wood bases, crown molding, window trim, as well as eave details. Franklin adds, “The house is painted to create a traditional, clean, simple statement that you are welcome at Founders’ House. With this design located on this site overlooking the river, it could easily have been the original estate home of a large working farm.” The house’s openness allows each room to spill into the next.
Local interior designer Sissy Tarumianz, who was also chairman of the GPS Board of Trustees, chose to accent the home with classic furniture and wall art in order to blend with its low-maintenance river style exterior. She helped the Tuckers incorporate their own furniture, paintings, and photographs with brand new pieces; she also selected a soft neutral palette throughout the home to make a soft and understated impression.
For Christmas décor, Chattanooga florist Judy Parker added natural elegance to the home’s exterior including fresh pine along the porch railing, emphasized with simple red bows. Traditional wreaths adorn the home’s many windows and its entrance door.
Christmas marks a special time for the Tuckers as they traditionally spend it with family in their hometown of Jacksonville, Florida. Terri recalls how Christmas had always been a fun and special time for her growing up in the north Florida community. “All of the extended family on my dad’s side gathered on Christmas afternoon,” she says. “There were 75 aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents.”
She says even after she and Randy moved to Chattanooga with their two children, Trey and Taylor, they continued to spend Christmas in Jacksonville. “Even though our children are adults now, they still love being with all of the family on Christmas, and waking up with their cousins on Christmas morning.”
Terri says she and Randy still laugh when they think about Randy singing Christmas carols in lieu of lullabies to Trey and Taylor when they were young, as they were the only songs he knew all the words to. “So whether it was December or April, Randy would be singing Jingle Bells or some other Christmas carol and the kids would sing right along, blissfully unaware that it may not have been the season,” Terri says, smiling.
“I think one of the most special memories for all of us is that of my dad playing Santa Claus for Trey, Taylor, and his other grandchildren when he was alive,” Terri says, noting how her father did not just throw on a Santa suit and burst through the door with presents. Instead, he would ask the adults to round up the kids into a strategic location inside the house; he would then scurry across the yard, ducking behind bushes and trees, and looking very mysterious and magical, Terri says.
“He would then get on the roof, ringing sleigh bells, and yelling instructions to Rudolph and the rest of the reindeer,” she adds, “all the while, stomping on the roof for all he was worth. Needless to say, our kids believed in Santa for a long time.”
Terri adds, “Around our house, Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas if we didn’t bake and decorate Christmas cookies.” She jokes that her family may riot if she skipped this tradition.
Randy notes how Founders’ House reflects the same fellowship and pride as GPS. As for the next residents of the house, only time will tell. For now, Randy and Terri feel comfortable and at ease in a community that embraces them as part of their own and enjoy making the house a cozy place in which to reflect on their past and present and ponder their hopes for the future.