Sherlee L. Locker

SherLee Lorraine (Riggin) Locker was born January 15th, 1930 in Port Norris, NJ to Walter and Lillian Riggin. Because her father trained in Ft. Sheridan and Ft. Lee and served in WWI in Lorraine, France, her parents chose to commemorate all that as a name difficult to get folks to say just the way she liked it. Those of us who loved her most, managed.

SherLee and her siblings, top to bottom are Walter Jr., and Ruth, now deceased, and Audrey, widowed and living in Pennsylvania. As a child during the depression, her fascination with matches caused an episode of burns that threatened her life. Recovering was an arduous process but in that strong family it drew her closer to the Lord and ultimately to her asking Christ Jesus into her heart as a young teenager. It has proved out for her life and for eternity.

Those late childhood and early teen years offered good fun with the family as they had a little cabin down on the Delaware Bay that SherLee was “way into” for all the warm months: vacations and weekends, even during WWII as her older brother served in Europe. Her favorite activity was getting up early and slipping away with her father to catch enough fish for breakfast. The kids also liked burying themselves in black mud to see how deep they could get. Then there were the dirty haystacks … . Her mother had to take a scrub brush to her hide at sundown each day. [Don’s note: She preferred staying clean by the time we met.]

As high school came, SherLee managed to keep a respectable grade sheet while she kept a thoughtful eye out for a suitable boy who might actually be in their small high school. As she looked back she concluded she had been too optimistic. However, there were a couple of nice dresses and feel-nice occasions to enjoy.

From high school, she went on to nurses’ training at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. She did fine and graduated there in three years. Upon finishing, she had a job or two there, then took a serious job up in Princeton, NJ as a scrub nurse in the OR. This was long enough ago that occasionally she could see Albert Einstein stroll across campus to his field theory desk, couch, and blackboard.

SherLee began to doubt she would marry. But here was a practical problem in those days. Nurses had little realistic expectation of ever acquiring a retirement at that job, important as it was. The exception, was the Armed Forces of the United States. Wanting to travel on a frequent basis, SherLee joined the Air Force. After basic training she was sent to Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. They put her back in another OR as a scrub nurse. It seems her flying was to be on the ground.

One Saturday evening, a group of officers’ wives were staging a variety show at the Officers’ Club and a young man, a year past graduate school was participating with the men’s chorus line. SherLee was there with others from her work as her eye landed on him. Yet, he was oblivious.
A couple weeks later, the young fellow and the young woman happened to encounter at a singles social dance. She is purported to have just said, “If that fellow doesn’t ask me to dance, I’m going to ask him.” Then he turned and asked and she dropped her glass.

Four months later they were married with all the witnesses and relatives present. Her husband of 58½ years, Don Locker, was with her to the end of this life and is certainly grateful to be so.
If anyone had met them at the beginning they might have wondered whether it would really last. Neither SherLee nor Don was particularly sound nor faithful in the Lord. But, by God’s grace, not long after the wedding, they seemed to realize that their home needed a sound basis as they considered having children. They started seeking a church where God’s Word was taught. On first try they found a wonderful AF Chaplain at the base chapel. Though he only remained a year, it was the serious start needed, because difficult times lay ahead.

Only seven years later, when their third child was barely three, SherLee was struck down with Rheumatoid Arthritis, only partially under control to the end. Even so, she managed to run a home where her husband and kids were cared for and the love of God was taught. She has been an inspiration to us all.

With her husband she has been an active part of congregations in Dayton and Springfield, OH, Albuquerque, NM, and now, Port Orchard, WA. We shall miss her.
The Lord be praised in giving SherLee these years of effort, example, and good will. SherLee we love you. As you are absent from the body, you are present with the Lord. Amen! ____________________________

SherLee is survived by Donald, her husband

3 children:
Taylor (Stephanie) Locker of New Mexico
Sharon (Lee) Augsburger of New Jersey
Ione (Jimmie) Friedly of Colorado

4 grandchildren:
Jonathan (Jessica) Locker of New Mexico
Steven (Hope) Locker of New Mexico
Rachel Augsburger of Illinois
Alicia Locker of New Mexico

3 great-Grandchildren:
Gavin Locker of New Mexico
Beckett Locker of New Mexico
Michael Locker of New Mexico

“In lieu of flowers, you may make donations in SherLee’s name to Joni and Friends International Disability Center or to the Arthritis Foundation.”