La Grande, Oregon
James (Jim) H. Lockett, 78, of McMinnville and formerly of La Grande, died Oct. 26 at the Willamette Valley Medical Center in McMinnville. There will be an 11 a.m. memorial service today at the First Baptist Church in McMinnville with Pastor Kent Harrop officiating. A private family burial will be at the Enterprise Cemetery.
Mr. Lockett was born in La Grande June 16, 1928, to Arden Carmen and Gwendolyn Bell Lockett. He spent the first six years of his life in Kamela. He finished grade school in La Grande, attended high school in Athena and graduated from Eastern Oregon College in 1950 with a bachelor’s degree in education. He went on to complete a master’s degree at OSU.
While at EOC, he met Reita Murrey, and on Aug. 5, 1950, they married in Enterprise. They made their home in McMinnville, where he was an elementary school principal for 31 years and taught for five years. He was a trustee on the OEA Board during his teaching career and retired in 1986.
He published two books, one in 1995 and one in 2005, both collections of his columns on the history of Yamhill County. He was active in Kiwanis and volunteered at the Evergreen Aviation Museum and for the Red Cross.
His hobbies included researching his family genealogy, studying Oregon geology, flying, making stained glass, gardening, painting, doing crossword puzzles and using computers. He loved to travel. He was very much a family man and loved his girls and grandchildren.
Survivors include his wife, Reita, of McMinnville; daughters, Becki Heath of Bozeman, Mont., Janie Burich of Troutdale and Katie Foster of Parkdale; brothers, Kenneth Lockett of Astoria, Dudley Lockett of Concord, Calif., and Rex Lockett of Tustin, Calif.; sisters, Gail Pierce of Cottonwood, Ariz., and Judy Kliesh of White Salmon, Wash.; and five grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a brother, Fred Hall.
Memorial contributions can be made to the Noon Kiwanis Club or the Tilikum Retreat Center in care of Macy & Son Funeral Directors, 135 N. Evans, McMinnville 97128.
The Observer, Obituaries For The Week Ending Nov. 02, 2006