Lawrence Thomas Locke
Lawrence Thomas Locke – Larry Tom or LT to his parents and siblings, Pop or Pepaw to his kids and grandkids – passed away quietly and peacefully on July 4, as fireworks were exploding in the Fort Worth sky. He is survived by his children, Bree and Benjamin Perez, Jacob and Rachel Locke, and Jeremy Locke; his seven grandchildren Ian, Adalyn, Lily, Olivia, Andrew, Zachary, and Victoria; his mother Catherine Locke; his six siblings, Bill, Sue, John, Frank, Kathleen, and Beth; and 21 nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his father Belmondt Locke Jr.
Larry was born in Kansas City, KS on December 20, 1953 to Larry and Catherine Locke and attended Christ the King grade school and Bishop Ward High School and played one season of basketball at UMKC. He always said he enjoyed the basketball and parties more than studying – which is probably why he had such high academic expectations for his kids. He started his career in the airline industry with Braniff Airlines, which is what brought him to Texas from Kansas. He loved the mantra that he wasn’t born in Texas, but he got here as fast as he could. But he still loved visiting family back in Kansas especially for big plates of perogis, polish sausage, povatica, and polkadaters. After Braniff went under, Larry went into trim carpentry, which eventually turned into cabinet building. His woodworking can be found throughout Austin and all over the Hill Country from Fredricksburg to Wimberley. Working 10 hour days, 6 days a week in the hot Texas sun wasn’t enough for Larry. He found energy to coach Bree and Jacob in every season of every sport – soccer, baseball, and the family favorite, basketball. He also built playhouses, carved elaborate jack’o’lanterns (which he protected with a shotgun), made homemade peach ice cream, and shared all his fishing secrets. His passions became his kids and grandkids’ passions – basketball being the most-loved. He taught Bree and Jacob the art of the jump shot and with the help of some friends named Popovich, Robinson, Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili, Larry showed his kids the importance of humility and teamwork. He got to see 5 Spurs championships, 1 UT football national championship, and TCU’s rise to greatness as the dominant athletic program in the state of Texas. Work and basketball remained important, but his most favorite thing in the world were his grandchildren. Psalm 127 says “Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him” – Ian, Addie, Lily, Olivia, Andrew, Zach, and Tori were Larry’s heritage. Lung cancer may have ended his woodworking and grounded his jump shot, but it allowed him to spend extra time with his beloved grandkids. On the most difficult post-chemo days, Larry might be in a bad mood not wanting to be bothered by anybody, but as soon as one of the grandkids walked in, his face would light up with pride and love. We should all strive to have as much pride and love in our families as Larry had in his.
Service will be held for all friends and family at 10am, July 15 at Heritage Haus in Dripping Springs. Another service will be held at a later date in Kansas City. Donations can be made to the American Cancer Society or Community Hospice of Texas. Please visit Larry’s memory page at http://main.acsevents.org/goto/larrylocke to sign the guestbook and share stories with his family.