Visitation will be held on March 28, 2022, at Memory Chapel at Anderson-Ragsdale Mortuary 5-7pm. Funeral services will be March 29, 2022, at Second Baptist Church Linda Vista at 10:30am.
Baby Dalle (Tuck) Hancock, was born September 13, 1926, in Mineola, TX, to Roy Tuck and Minnie Collins. Baby and her younger siblings were raised by their grandmother, Anna Lee Collins, in the family home on 511 Baker Street.
Education was strongly emphasized by her family and Baby attended the Mineola Colored School. An excellent student, she graduated high school at sixteen then attended Texas College. Baby was a member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, a historically Black sorority.
In 1947, Baby married Forest Hancock. They were quickly blessed with four sons. Forest, a Navy serviceman, relocated the family to San Diego, CA, in 1951. In 1953, upon Forest’s return from the Korean War, they were blessed with three more sons. Baby and Forest purchased their first home in Linda Vista. In 1965, she would give birth to their eighth son.
In 1974, they adopted a ninth son. Baby lived a Christ centered life. In 1963, Forest would establish his own church, Freewill Missionary Baptist Church where Baby was a founder, First Lady, and Mother of the Church until her passing. As a self-taught pianist, she also served as the Musical Director at Freewill.
Baby would return to college and in 1970 received her Bachelor’s in education and teaching credentials from California Western University. Her first teaching position was at Juarez Lincoln Elementary in Chula Vista. In June 1976, she received her Master’s in education from United States International University. She also took part in a study abroad program, studying for several weeks in both Kenya and London. After several years as an educator, she retired from teaching in 1990.
Baby was also a talented quilter, a skill learned from her grandmother. Her love for quilting led her to eventually travel to the Amish community in Pennsylvania to quilt with the Amish firsthand.
Baby was preceded in death by her husband Forest Hancock, her son James Hancock, and her grandson Arthur Hancock. Baby is survived by her siblings, Willie Lewis Brown Jr., James Lee Walton, and Royetta Tuck; her sons, Arthur, Dwight, Roy, Stephen, Chester, Forest, Jessie, and Joseph; 16 grandchildren; several great grandchildren; nieces, nephews, and other extended family.
