Robert Edwin “Tuck” Duncan II was born in Washington, D.C. on October 4, 1951. He was raised in Wilmette, Illinois near Chicago with his brother Richard (born 1953), and he graduated from New Trier High School in Northfield, Illinois in 1969. He then attended the University of Kansas from 1969 to 1973, graduating with a B.S. in Journalism. He received his J.D. from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas in 1976.

From 1976 to 1978 Tuck was Secretary and Chief Counsel for the Kansas Board of Tax Appeals. He was Assistant Attorney General for Kansas’ Alcoholic Beverage Control and Assistant City Attorney for Topeka in 1979-1981. Since 1983 he has maintained a private law practice in Topeka known as Duncan Law Offices or R.E. “Tuck” Duncan, Attorney at Law.

Over his years in Topeka, Tuck has served on several non-profit and organizational boards, including the USD 501 School Board (1985-1989), the Topeka Housing Authority (1999-2004), and the Topeka Postal Service Customer Advisory Council (2003-2004). He has also been president of the Shawnee County Historical Society and the Topeka Friends of the Zoo.

Tuck is married to Kathleen “Kathy” Allen (born 1952). Kathy is a KU graduate and retired dance instructor who taught at Barbara’s Conservatory of Dance, an acclaimed dance conservatory in Topeka. Tuck and Kathy have two sons: Spencer (born 1976), who was sworn in as a Topeka city councilman for District 8 in 2020, and Ryan (born 1978).

[Information retrieved from https://www.tuckduncanlaw.com/about_us, school yearbooks, and https://www.duncanfortopeka.com/about_spencer.]