Letters Without Limits, founded by students at Johns Hopkins and Brown University, connects volunteers with palliative care and hospice patients to co-create “Legacy Letters.” These letters capture memories, values and lessons that patients wish to share, preserving stories that might otherwise be lost. By honoring these voices and preserving legacies, Letters Without Limits hopes to affirm the central role of humanism in medicine, reminding us that every patient is more than their illness and that their voices deserve to be heard. As you read these powerful Legacy Letters, we invite you to pause, reflect and recognize the beauty in every life.
Interviewer’s note
Rose Tuck is an optimistic individual. I admire her love for taking care of others and spending time with her family. It was a pleasure to learn about her life and listen to the many stories she has to share. Her authentic life-view is especially inspiring to me.
Early life
I was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on December 8, 1942. My mother was a domestic worker, and my father was a steelworker. I had five siblings, and we had a pleasant childhood. We managed to stay together, go to school, accept responsibilities and accept jobs that we wanted. Growing up, I always did what I was told to do. I always wanted to be a leader. I never wanted to be a follower. Even when I was younger, I never wanted to be a follower. When I was going to high school, in the 12th grade, these guys came up to us and asked if we wanted to smoke. I said all right. I started coughing. Threw it down. Stepped on it. That’s it, no more. At graduation they were having parties. Everyone was trying vodka, and I stuck my tongue in some one time. Never, no more. When we were all going out together, I was the driver. I never let someone get behind the wheel if they were drinking. Everybody’s different.
Career
I was looking in the News-American paper, and there were jobs for the state of Maryland. I went to apply for the job. I was 24. They said that they wanted the first people they hired to be 26. I haven’t done anything wrong. I’m gonna do something wrong. I asked my sister if she knew anything about make-up. She said tomorrow we’re going to Murphy. I went, and I got all that stuff. So I made my face back up, I went right back to the same job, and I talked to the same woman. She said I have to be 26, and I said I was 26. So I got the job, and I stayed on the job. When I went to personnel for retirement, the lady said that I was born in ‘40. I said someone made a mistake. I was born in ‘42. She changed it. I worked for the state of Maryland, with the intellectually disabled, for 40 years. We enjoyed something that we wanted to do, and we were blessed by doing it. We made a lot of friends, met a lot of people that we cared about and we took care of them proper.
My family
I was married for 34 years. When we started dating, I said that we’re gonna wait a while. We’re gonna wait three years. So after three years, everything went well, and I said yes. We were both 36, and we got married. He passed away in 2009. I got a sister who is 95, and we get along fine. We have a knit family. We have a family reunion every September 6, and our entire family comes together. We meet together every Thanksgiving, Christmas and September 6. We all enjoy each other. Most of my family, the younger generation, they’re involved in church. I got a very pleasant, very nice daughter. My daughter is young, and she has a lot of years ahead of her. I hope if anything happens to me, she remains who she is. I hope she remains comfortable in herself. Her do’s and don’t’s are her concern. She comes every other day. She takes my clothes home, does them and takes them back. My brother in law comes with her. He’s such a lovely person. He does the laundry and cleaning and goes to the store with my daughter. In our home, I don’t have to do anything but take care of myself. I’m grateful for that. We get along fine, the three of us. That’s the way life is with me.
Helping others
I take care of everybody. I go take people to the store. I take a lot of people to bingo. If people call me and ask me to go to hospital appointments, I go with them. That’s what I did every day before I got sick, and I intend to continue as I get better. It’s something that God gave me. It’s a gift that he gave me, and I accepted it. It’s something that’s just in me. It’s been like that for me ever since I was 19 years old.
Final message
I tell everyone to live your life the best you can and to the best of your knowledge. Follow your steps. Don’t start something and then stop. If it’s something you like, you do it. If it’s not, pursue what you want to do with your life. Follow your dreams. Do what you think is right. Nobody tells you what to do.
With love,
Rose Tuck
