Nathaniel “Ray” Tuck, Jr., 52, of Blacksburg, passed away at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Hospital in Winston Salem, N.C. Feb.11, 2024 after battling cancer for two-and-a-half years.
He was born in Roanoke on April 30, 1971 to Nathaniel Ray and Barbara Z. Tuck. He is preceded in death by his father Nathaniel R Tuck and all four of his grandparents, Bill and Margaret Zint and Bill and Dorothy Tuck.
Ray is survived by his wife, Bonnie, of 29 years; his daughter Abi Dolgos, husband Dakota Dolgos and grandson Gatlin Dolgos; and son, Nathaniel R Tuck, III and longtime girlfriend Abby E Markham. Also surviving is his mother Barbara Z. Tuck, his sister Amelia Martin and husband Buddy Martin, and his brother Ben M Tuck and wife Priyam Chipper.
Ray was a 1994 graduate of Radford University and achieved his doctorate of Chiropractic from National University of Health Sciences in 1997. Upon graduating from chiropractic school, he began practicing at Tuck Chiropractic Clinic with his father, also a chiropractor, in Southwest Virginia seeing patients primarily in Blacksburg and Christiansburg.
Over the years he came to have multiple clinics throughout Southwest Virginia and was very passionate about the role of chiropractic as a conservative option for care and its accessibility in this region of Virginia. Ray and his father have provided chiropractic services to Southwest Virginia communities for a combined 45 years. Ray’s son, Nathaniel R Tuck, III is currently in chiropractic school and together they dreamed of continuing that legacy for many years to come.
Ray held countless leadership roles in the Chiropractic community including past President of the Virginia Chiropractic Association, past Chairman of the Board and then later President of the American Chiropractic Association, and was appointed by the Governor of Virginia to serve as the lone Chiropractor on the Virginia Board of Medicine just to name a few.
He was a “change agent” who sought to use his leadership skills for the advancement of the chiropractic profession and people everywhere desiring conservative care options. As an extension to his conservative healthcare roots, Ray had an ardent holistic philosophy of wellness. He devoted himself to incorporating local food sourcing, organic gardening, various forms of exercise and other wellness initiatives into his own lifestyle and took every opportunity to educate others about the same. He had big dreams of creating a wellness farm to support these efforts and was an avid “foodie” at heart.
By nature, Ray had a gift of bringing people together. Using this gift he made considerable impacts on his profession and community, built a vast network of friends and sadly left behind a beautiful family who will forever treasure the memories they built together. A friend described him as “too big for this world.”
The family will have a private funeral service for Ray to say goodbye and lay his remains to rest. A public Celebration of Life service will be held Saturday April 6 at 2 p.m. at the Inn at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg to pay tribute to all that he was. His family welcomes anyone who wishes to attend. In lieu of donations or flowers, please hug those you love.
