Attorney John J. Jurcyk, who worked with Dr. O.L. Plucker for a number of years, remembered him as someone who had left the community in a better condition than he had found it.
Jurcyk knew Plucker for many years, as Jurcyk’s firm represented the Kansas City, Kan., Board of Education.
He said Plucker exemplified a well-known oath that encourages citizens to leave their community in a better condition than they found it.
“O.L. had the knack of being forward-looking and trying to do the best for the community,” Jurcyk said. “He was very instrumental in the study that came up with the Unified Government organizational structure.”
Jurcyk said he believed Dr. Plucker made the organizations he was involved with better, including the Kansas City, Kan., school district, the Kansas City, Kan., Area Chamber of Commerce, and even after his retirement, when he was active with the Wyandotte Health Foundation.
Plucker was the superintendent during the time of a desegregation case, which resulted in the creation of Sumner Academy.
“He’s done a lot of good things for the community, and I’m proud to have known him,” Jurcyk said. “Whatever he worked on, when he left, it was better than when he started.”
– Mary Rupert