Melvin Lamar Tucker (1947-2019) was born in Clarke County, Georgia. He started work with the Georgia State Patrol in 1970 as a radio operator and by the time he retired in 1997 he was a trooper first class. Tucker was a  well known luthier in the bluegrass community, building fine mandolins and acoustic guitars. He was building instruments from around 1993 until around 2018. His son Brad Tucker also worked with him building guitars.

Source: Melvin Tucker obituary 2019