Obituary - Jo Parker Tucker
Margaret Hill, Jill Saulbrey and Brenda Cole with Jo at front gate to Unique Cottage
OBITUARY - JUDY PARKER-TUCKER
From her first meeting with a Cairn on VJ Day 1945 right through to her death on Boxing Day 2011 Jo's devotion to the breed never wavered. She remained committed over those many decades to the welfare of the breed and advancing its best interests. To her each Cairn was special and to be treasured.
Her death is very much the end of an era. She was one of those large kennels post WW2 who did so much to influence the direction the breed took, Their names now sadly for most people simply historical.... but what a roll call they make. Blencathra, Redletter, Oudenarde ,Felshott, Rossarden and now Uniquecottage. Hopefully Jo's daughter Ruth may keep the Uniquecottage flame alive.
The record speaks for itself. From her first Champion in 1954 bred in partnership with the late Hazel Small to her last made up in 2005 there was a steady stream of top quality Cairns who were not only successful in the ring but in many cases made significant impacts on the breed both within UK and worldwide. It has been said many times that there can be few Cairns worldwide who would not have Uniquecottage somewhere in their extended pedigree and that is undoubtedly true.
Given the very close ties between Uniquecottage and Avenelhouse their record needs to be considered together. As a partnership Jo and Hazel bred a total of 11 Champions. Following the dissolution of the partnership in the 60s a further 29 were bred by Jo and 9 by Hazel giving a grand total of 49. Both also made up several other Cairns not in fact bred by them but in many cases owing much to their breeding.. In their halcyon days it was not uncommon for them to "do the double" in times when entries were much larger, and many would say, stronger than they are today
And yet she found time to be active in the breed clubs. At the time of her death she was Patron of the parent body The Cairn Terrier Club, President of South Wales and West of England CTC and on the committee of the Southern CTC.
She judged at CC level 32 times in UK and judged extensively overseas including doing both breed club shows in Australia twice,
She first judged the NSW Club show in 1977 when Ch Craiglyn Crofter (Imp UK) went BIS., She did both Club shows in 1985 with Ch Craigend Classic Code BIS in Sydney and the South Australian bred Skyeway Stewart McLeod topping the entry in Melbourne. Her last appointment here was in 2000 for the Victorian Club when she drew what was then, and I suspect is still, the breed record entry for this country of 124. BIS went to Ch Balbridie Sconser.
She sent many Cairns to Australia most of whom have contributed greatly to the advancement of the breed here. The first was Uniquecottage Cooee to her good friends Dibs Russell and Brenda Gurner in 1957 in the days when travel to Australia meant a long and somewhat grueling boat trip .From Dibs' description of her as a "seasick bitch puppy" I gather she didn't exactly enjoy the cruise. But she went on to establish Family 3 in this country and still contributes a steady stream of winners through her descendants. The last was in fact her last Champion Glengettie who joined her good friends Jill Saulbrey and Joy Wangler in Ballarat. She has had a successful career here winning a BIS all breeds and twice BIS breed club shows. Progeny from her three litters have done well.
Dibs having died about 10 years ago I'm sure they're now somewhere busily discussing the state of the breed!
Steadfast in her devotion to the breed she nonetheless wore her many successes in a quiet and unassuming way. She was very kind and generous in sharing her knowledge and experience with those genuinely interested in learning.
At the Victorian show in 2000 she made two observations....remain true to the breed and honour those who've gone before. Lets hope we all learnt enough from her to be able to live up to the task she set us.
She will be very sadly missed by those of us who were fortunate enough to have known her and the breed generally but we are all very much the richer for her efforts over so many years
Rest easy old friend.
Robert Bartram
Attached to this obituary is an article written in the 90s by Ann Roslin Williams on Jo and Hazel in her. "Famous Breeders" series in Dog World - please click on this link to view the article.
If you go to The Cairn Terrier Club website using the link on this site (second from the bottom) and click on to "Articles" you will find a short video shot by Graham Peers of a visit to UC in 2010 as well as Fiona Cameron's article which appeared in the Centenary yearbook. Both are well worth a look.