Robert Lee Thacker departed this life at the age of 80 on November 6, 2019. Robert was the loving husband of Yvonne Thacker, son of the late Robert Roosevelt Thacker and the late Johnnie Lee Adams and Essie Mae Thacker. Robert attended Clinton High School in Clinton, Tennessee. A civil rights pioneer, he was one of twelve African American students to desegregate Clinton High (a state funded public school) a full year before desegregation occurred in Little Rock, Arkansas. He, in addition to the other students, have been memorialized with a statue at Green McAdoo Museum in Clinton, Tennessee. After high school Robert enlisted in the army and served two years with an honorable discharge. He was employed by Ford Motor before becoming an entrepreneur in the asphalt trucking industry.
He leaves to cherish his memory his children, Benita Brewer, Jewrell Wright, Derrick (Tiffany) Thacker, Candy (Byron) Marshall, Kristie (Maverick) Bass, Toni Bryant, Cory Thacker, grandson Keontae (Jade) Rouser, whom he raised, and the late Robin Renee Thacker. Brothers and sisters, Hedy Tenner, Linda Hill, Kenny Turner, Bret (Leslie) Thacker, Essie (Larry) Cobb, Carl Thacker, the late Edwin Thacker, Brad Thacker, and Randy Turner. A host of grandchildren, great-grand children, family and friends.
Services for Robert Lee Thacker were held Wednesday, November 13, 2019 at Cobb’s Funeral Home. He was laid to rest at Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly, Michigan.