Stuckey[1]
Marvin and Loretta Stuckey bought Holly Grove in 1988 in a
deteriorated condition. The deed conveys
the property from Carleton N. Hughes to Marvin E. Stuckey and wife Loretta C.
Stuckey. The tenant Harry Easterling was
given 6 months to remove his cattle and possessions.
On a summary of owners Stuckey notes that Carlton Hughes
became the owner in 1985 and he bought the property from him in 1988. Henry Darden thinks Hughes was Walter
Propst’s father in law. Which apparently he was as I learned later.
The Stuckeys demolished the rear annex back to the bricks
and rebuilt it initially to be an apartment to live in while doing the rest of
the house but because of insurance problems, the annex became his woodworking
shop. The annex roof and south wall were
collapsing when he bought the property..
Stuckey noted he had purchased a 230 acre detached tract of
Holly Grove (to the west) in 1973. This
detached tract was a part of the plantation when the Williamsons owned it.
They did rebuild the back of the house, removing the rear
galleries and cabinets and reworking the 2nd tier of rooms. The second tier of rooms appear in photos to
have had the closets removed, the woodwork changed—upstairs the woodwork of the
NE bedroom was copied and downstairs the woodwork in the front rooms was
copied. The original woodwork around the
doors was a plain board with a square mold around the edge. The attic appears to have been rebuilt in a
previous renovation with new rafters and roof deck. Windows were added in some rooms so that
there were windows on both sides of all fireplaces. In some rooms there had been closets to the
side of the fireplaces. Were there
originally windows?
Billy McGregor of Centreville who worked at Richland
Equipment remembers Stuckey spending 5 years on the property. He also thinks
Dickey re-pointed the chimneys.
They moved the Captain’s house from where the garden now is
to its location further south near the barn.
Wayne Dickey spent about three years working here. He straightened the north column on
front. Photos show that he had a welded
frame built and the reinforced concrete poured at the base.
Stuckey notes that the house was renovated with the help of
architect, Jan Robin, and the contractor and painting crews of Wayne Dickey and
Lamar Dickey.
Marvin designed the well house. It sits on the site of an earlier building
that “did not have enough wood left to build a hot fire.” Although it was a small shed, the picture belies
Stuckey’s comment. Carlton Probst[2]
remembers a well house with an attached wood shed. He also noted that east of
the brick wall was a buried oil tank that was as big as a railroad car. Stuckey
noted the dog house covers the pipe.
Since there were noted to be three servant houses when the
Dudley’s sold the property, I think the Captain’s House, a 1940ish small 2
bedroom house was one. The second was
probably where the well house now stands and I suspect a third was in the area
of the flower bed along the drive since I have dug up a number of bricks in
this area. They may have formed a group
along the drive. Since seeing the photo
of the former well house, it does appear to be more of a shed than a place to
live. But I still believe that some out
building was along the east side of the drive. They could have been earlier and
the out- buildings of the Dudley’s farther away.
Dr. Stuckey did say that the patio was overgrown with ivy to
the point that he didn’t know it was there.
He personally built the garden fence and placed it where the Captain’s
house was. He planted some trees, the
two young oaks along the allee and the one in the parking area. He planted the conifer behind the White
graves and I think one of the cedars along the lower drive. In 2011, a black lady by the name of Banks
stopped and talked to me along the side of the highway and said her husband
planted the cedars along the highway for Dr. Stuckey and dug the pond. The photos I now have do show Stuckey
building the highway fence and planting the cedars and magnolias along the
highway as well as building the dam for the lake. There was a small pond there before Stuckey
built the dam to increase the size.
Carlton Probst[3]
noted that the ponds were here in the 1970’s much as they are now but the dam
on the large pond failed at some point. Stuckey rebuilt.
Probst remembers the stairs to the attic coming off the
north side of the upper rear gallery. The present bath under the main stairs
was a closet then.
The Stuckey’s sold Holly Grove with 110 acres in October
2005 to Connie and Landon Anderson for $1,100,000.
Marvin met Loretta at LSU.
Loretta Cox was born December 30, 1935 in Texarkana, Texas (daughter of
Chesley Bertram Cox and Lucie Mary Atkinson), graduated from Mena High School
in Arkansas, attended LSU, starting college at age 16, and graduated from the
Univ. of Tennessee. Marvin E. Stuckey was born c. 1933. He became a pathologist. He married Loretta in 1957. The Stuckeys lived abroad and in several
places in the US but settled in Baton Rouge where Marvin practiced
pathology. Their home was near the LSU
campus. They had five children Wanda (m.
Glenn Boyette), Paul (m. Kim), Alice (m. Mark Michel of Boston at Holly Grove
in 1993), Martha Stuckey, Jonathan Stuckey (m. Anna). Grandchildren: Chelsea, Christopher and
Daniel Boyette; Mathew, Nathan and Brayden Stuckey; Austen and Aymee Michel;
and Mary and James Stuckey. Loretta is
described as an honest, modest, practicing Christian. She loved her family, travel, LSU sports,
gardening, fishing (with a cane pole), the outdoors, and cooking. Mark Michel speaking at her memorial service
at the University United Methodist Church, Baton Rouge on 17 Sept 2010 (Loretta
died Friday, Sept 10.) told of calling Dr. Stuckey in Mississippi to ask
permission to marry Alice. Dr. Stuckey
was all charm and gave his blessing and asked him to call Loretta in Baton
Rouge. He did and told her and there was
only silence. After an awkward moment he
said he would make Alice happy. Loretta
said, “we’ll see.” Dr. Stuckey came to
Holly Grove with his brother Ronnie to pick spider lilies on Thursday the day
before her memorial service. He wanted
to use them for an arrangement at the church since they were her favorite
flower.[4]
Paul Stuckey, the youngest son, was shot and killed while on
duty as a wildlife officer at the ferry landing in St. Francisville in the
early morning hours of 30 Sept. 2011.
Marvin Earl Stuckey d. 22 Mar 2017 in Baton Rouge. He was b.
in Minden, LA, 1 Dec 1933, graduated Fortier High School New Orleans, Theta Xi
fraternity, LSU, LSU Medical School, New Orleans. US Army, discharge 1965.
Pathologist at Woman’s Hospital in 1968 in Baton Rouge. Volunteer missions with
Pathologist Overseas. Survived by children: Wanda Stuckey Boyette and husband
Glen; Alice Stuckey Michel and husband Mark, Martha Stuckey; Jonathan Stuckey[5]
and wife Anna; grandchildren: Chelsea, Christopher and Daniel Boyette; Mathew,
Nathan and Brayden Stuckey; Austen and Aymee Michel; and Mary and James
Stuckey; great grandchildren Tripp and Faith Jacobchik; brother Ronald Stuckey
and wife Ana. Preceded in death by parents, Bernard and Ollie Nell Stuckey,
wife Loretta Cox and son Paul Berches Stuckey; brother Maurice Stuckey. Funeral
at Univ United Methodist Church, Baton Rouge.[6]
Connie and I went to the funeral. Jonathan was the youngest,
age 41, the age of Stuckey when he was born. Martha is not the adopted one. We
now think Wanda. Adopted first as they felt they could not have children.
Stuckey was known as partial to baseball, gardening, photography, wood-working.
Stuckey was instrumental in building the columbarium at University Methodist
where he was interred.
[1] Some
from conversations with Marvin Stuckey.
[2] Personal
communication 2019. Carlton grew up at Holly Grove, the son of Walter and Jody
Probst.
[3] Personal
communication Jan 2019.
[4] From
Loretta Stuckey’s obit in The Advocate, Baton Rouge, Sept. 12, 2010 and from
the memorial service on Sept. 17.
[5] Jonathan
Bertram Stuckey lives in Baton Rouge, b. 12 Sept 1975
[6] Obit,
the Advocate
