Born in 1878 in Frametown, West Virginia, Levi Johnson Dean studied architecture by completing a Scranton Pennsylvania International Correspondence School course. He began practicing architecture in Huntington in 1910. In 1921, the state architectural registration law was enacted, and he became the nineteenth architect to be licensed in the state of West Virginia. His legacy includes some of the area's most beautiful architectural works from the area's "boom" years of the 1920s - churches, county courthouses, residences and many commercial buildings such as those on Huntington's Fourth Avenue known for their terra cotta and metalwork trimmed facades. During the Great Depression, Levi Dean moved his family into the building he designed to house his architectural practice. Two private residences designed by Levi Dean are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Albert Franklin Tucker's formal education ended with the available eight years of grammar school in East Tennessee, but he gained experience beginning as a carpenter and later as a foreman and building supervisor in the early development of the Eastern Kentucky coalfields. He joined the firm of Meanor & Handloser shortly after moving to Huntington in 1917. His association with the firm lasted until 1938 when he obtained licensure and opened his own office. He became known throughout West Virginia and neighboring states where more than 150 congregations of many denominations called upon him to design and supervise construction of their churches and church schools. His contributions were recognized in 1966 when he received an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from West Virginia Wesleyan College. His son and Edward's uncle James R. Tucker, continued the firm until his retirement from active practice in the 1980s.

At the time of Levi Dean's death in 1951, his youngest son, Keith Dean, was studying architecture at Ohio State. Keith's older brother Brooks had been working as an apprentice in their father's practice, but did not yet have his architectural license. In a generous gesture, Albert F. Tucker offered his assistance and allowed Brooks, to work under him until Keith graduated in 1953 and became licensed in Ohio in 1954. Both Keith and Brooks were licensed in West Virginia in 1956, and at that time, they formed Dean and Dean Architects, carrying on the legacy of their father, which began nearly half a century before. Over the next 30 years, the firm grew to become the premier architectural firm of Huntington, designing buildings for the area's prominent educational and public institutions. Jack Kieffer was a partner in the firm from 1976-1980. Keith and Brooks never forgot the kindness that Albert Tucker had shown to them, and in 1996, they finally had the opportunity to repay him by agreeing to transfer ownership of their practice to Albert's grandson, Edward.

Growing up in Huntington, West Virginia, Edward Wells Tucker received his Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Tennessee in 1982. He soon moved to Nashville, Tennessee to continue his architectural internship and gained licensure in 1986. Between 1982 and 1995, he worked for two firms before joining Vanderbilt University as Staff Architect - Campus Planning, Medical Center in 1990. In February 1995, he returned to Huntington to begin his own firm. This was accomplished through the acquisition and renewal of Dean and Dean, Inc. Architects. On August 1, 1996, the firm became Edward Tucker, Architect. In 2002, the firm was incorporated and renamed Edward Tucker Architects, Inc., with a focus on healthcare, academic, industrial, commercial and public projects.