About Tuckers Funeral and Bereavement Service

Our Geelong funeral home story

F.H Tucker & Son Pty Ltd was established in Wycheproof in 1883 by Mr. Frank Henry Tucker. At this time the business was setup as a Builder, Undertaker & Timber Merchant.

In 1925, F.H. Tucker & Son moved to the town of Geelong West. At this time the company was owned and run by Frank’s son, Charles Henry Tucker, and his wife Irene.

Charles Tucker was a community-minded man and served the local community as a Geelong West City Councillor from 1935 to 1948, as well as being Mayor from 1945 to 1946. This community-minded spirit is part of the Tuckers Funeral & Bereavement Service culture today.

When Charlie Tucker died in 1954, Les Cole, who had been employed by the company for many years, became a shareholder and ran the company with Mrs Tucker. The Cole family eventually assumed full ownership and management, but kept the original name of Tuckers as is still the case today.

Les Cole spent more than 60 years supporting members of the community in their time of need, a tradition that was continued by his son Trevor Cole.

Trevor, along with his sons Brendan and Gavin, continued the time-honoured tradition of family service to the community at Tuckers Funeral & Bereavement Service.

In 1985, under the management of Trevor Cole, Tuckers completed building works and opened the Grovedale funeral home in Geelong.

These facilities were positioned on the other side of town from Geelong West, to better serve the community of Geelong. This chapel is still a well-known landmark in Geelong today.

In 2007, Tuckers purchased the Geelong division of Tattersall Funeral Care, Hepner Funeral Service, and the Lara division of Tattersall Funeral Care, including their pre-paid funerals commitments. As part of this acquisition, Tuckers now owns and operates the funeral home and chapel at Lara which is located at 8 Forest Road North.

In 2008, Mark and Kathy Osborne became partners in the company, with the Cole family maintaining local ownership and operation of Tuckers Funeral & Bereavement Service. We commenced major redevelopment of the funeral parlour in Geelong West in 2009. This process was undertaken to better serve the community of Geelong, and has included the restoration of Tuckers’ original funeral chapel.

This chapel has been named the ‘Les Cole Chapel’, in honour of the personal contributions Les Cole made to both the company and the local community and is located in Hope Street in Geelong West.

In 2011, the addition of Tuckers’ Highton funeral home in Geelong, located at the Barrabool Hills Centre, provided the ability to better serve the local community. This venue has magnificent views that are perfect for small, intimate reflections for 20 or 30 people, and has the ability to cater for large funerals accommodating up to 1000 people.

With more than 300 sealed car spaces, commercial catering facilities and state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment, this venue is Geelong’s most modern and contemporary funeral facility.

In December 2012, InvoCare purchased the shares of Tuckers Funeral & Bereavement Service, enabling Tuckers to now join the national and international group of funeral services providers. This resulted in Tuckers gaining much strength for the company going forward. InvoCare introduced skill and expertise as it invests in the strengthening and growth of our funeral homes both now and in the future. All funeral arrangements and services continue to be delivered by the same people who have been serving our Geelong community in the past.

We remain 100 per cent by Geelong people, for Geelong people.

Today, Tuckers Funeral & Bereavement Service is operating as the largest regional funeral director in Victoria.

Proudly, Tuckers supports the local community not only by many donations and sponsorships, but also by sourcing products and supplies from local producers where possible.

Proudly part of InvoCare. InvoCare is a leading provider of funeral services in Australia.