Benefit to help late couple's family

(Originally published in the Telegraph on 5/17/08)

ALTON - Friends and family will gather next month in remembrance of Mike and Kim Tucker, who lost their lives in a motorcycle crash in April.

Melissa Kamp and the staff at Avalon Salon plan to hold a benefit for the Tucker family at the salon from 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, June 1.

The event will include a barbecue, a 50/50 raffle and a silent auction. Items up for auction include gift certificates donated by a variety of businesses, such as Johnson's Corner, Pacific Beach Tan, Ted's Motorcycle World, the Regal Beagle, Alfie's Restaurant, Pampered Chef, Avon, Subway and McDonald's.

The Harman Family Band also will perform a live set of bluegrass and country music.

The benefit will celebrate the lives of Kim, who worked at Avalon as a nail technician, and Mike, who was employed as a welder at Corpak Inc. in St. Louis. The women at Avalon Salon feel a lasting affection for them both.

"Whenever you work 40 hours per week with someone, they become as close to you as family," Kamp said. "I know that if something like this happened to my family, Kim would have done the same."

Proceeds from the event will go toward paying off the Tucker family house in Brighton and ensuring that their three teenage sons, Zachary, 17, Andrew, 15, and Trevor, 13, "will have something for the future," Kamp said.

The couple died in a traffic crash on the afternoon of April 7, their 18th wedding anniversary. Kim, who was 36, and Mike, who was 43, fell victim to a three-vehicle collision at the intersection of Illinois Route 16 and Plainview Blacktop Road in Macoupin County. Officials with Illinois State Police District 18 in Litchfield reported that a Ford Explorer rammed into a Chevrolet pickup truck, pushing it into the path of the Tuckers' oncoming Yamaha motorcycle.

The salon is at 233 E. Delmar Ave., in Alton. Entry costs $15. For more information about the benefit or making a contribution to the Tucker family, contact Melissa Kamp at (618) 463-7555.