Deep sea diver Scott Tucker, 28, who died last Sunday from a diving disorder commonly known as "the bends," tattooed his back with the face of God and a cross. Tucker also had an image of his mother on his back. Monsignor Jason Gordon revealed this personal bit of information about Tucker as he delivered the homily at Tucker's funeral service at the packed St Finbar's RC Church in Diego Martin yesterday. Tucker, a member of the prominent Tucker family who owns the leading oil and gas corporation, Tucker Energy Services, had a deep experience with God after he survived a vehicular accident on the Solomon Hochoy Highway some eight years ago, Gordon told the congregation.
He said it was a turning point in the life of Tucker, who would have been around 20 at the time. "Some years ago, Scott had an experience with God as a result of his accident," he said. "It (the experience) was something he decided to put in flesh. "He had a mark on his back with the face of God and the sign of the cross and an image of his mother. "It was a pivotal moment in his existence, coming face to face with God and his own mortality. "It opened in him a desire for something that never could be satisfied.
"An experience with God leaves us unsatisfied with life," Gordon told the sad-looking congregation, some of whom wept quietly. Gordon said this deep inner contradiction was what drove Tucker. "It was a quest he had (for spiritual meaning).
Continuing on Tucker's spirituality, Gordon said: "Scott lived torn between heaven and hell, between an incredible sense of the God he experienced and the frustration of his own brokenness and weakness."
Tucker's weeping girlfriend, Amanda Hadeed, whom he had planned to marry on June 26 and his sister Kerry Tucker who read the eulogy, also told of his deep spirituality. "Scott was an angel," they said. They said he also lived life to the fullest. Tucker is believed to have died after diving last weekend of decompression sickness, a diving disorder suffered by compressed air divers. He complained of feeling unwell on Sunday and died later at the Scarborough hospital.