1922
2017
OBITUARY
Jeffery “Honey” Lockhart was born on September 1, 1922 to the union of Daisy Smith and Tom Jeff Smith in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Her father died at an early age and her mother remarried while living in Sioux City, Iowa where she worked and sent money home to her family during the Great Depression.
Honey remembers seeing her mother only once after she remarried and returned home to give birth to a son. Honey’s mother and baby brother died during the birth. From the time she was eight years old, she had no father, mother, brother or sister.
Her grandmother Irene, who had 14 children of her own, lovingly cared for Honey. Among her grandmother’s children were Delphia (Tea), Mary, Martha and Louise (Lou), Albert (Uncle A) in addition to other aunts and uncles. Her aunts cared for her so that a child who had lost one mother gained many more. Honey was eternally grateful for the loving kindness shown to her by Irene and her daughters and sons. In later life, when she could remember very little, she often called her aunts names and the names of their daughters, Rosie (Shur), Tan and Shirley.
Honey met Leroy, her future husband, when he came to their home selling watermelons grown on his father’s farm for 15 cents each. Neither she nor her cousin Shur had 15 cents to pay in the depression era south. Leroy left the watermelon anyway and the girls promised that when their grandmother or uncles came home, he could come back to collect the money. The couple was married on February 11, 1941 and no one could ever claim that he married Honey for her money
Leroy and Honey left the south in 1950, moving north, where they believed more educational opportunities would be available to their children and their children’s
children.
While in the Army during World War II, Leroy learned that Honey was going to have their second child in 1945. A friend named Ray serving along with him told him that if the child was a boy, name him Ray. The soldier named Ray did not make it home from the service and when Leroy and Honey’s second son was born, they named him Ray.
After he was discharged from the service at the end of the war, Leroy learned that he was seriously ill. When he was 32 years old and Honey was 35 years of age, Leroy passed away.
To the union of Leroy and Honey, six children were born prior to Leroy’s death in 1954. Four of their children, Rudy, Ray, Leroy and Melvin Lockhart have preceded Honey in death.
Their children and their children’s children are principals, teachers, doctors, lawyers, opera singers, executive level government workers, aspiring writers and law enforcement officers, orchestra and band directors, many holding advanced college degrees. Honey was proud of them all.
Her life peacefully expired on September 15, 2017. She was able to spend her last days in her home, attended to by her daughters Irene and Eloise.
Honey had 12 grandchildren. Leroy Lockhart III and Tristen Lockhart (who preceded her in death), Maria Lockhart, Tammara Lockhart, Tonya (Lockhart) Tolbert, Ray Lockhart Jr., Devon Love, Brittany Lockhart, Melody (Lockhart) McBride, Ronnie Smith, Anthony Lockhart and Jeffery Kyle Lockhart. She was blessed with many great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Sponsored by Rolling Oaks Funeral Home.
0 Entries
Be the first to post a memory or condolences.
The nightly ceremony in Washington, D.C. will be dedicated in honor of your loved one on the day of your choosing.
Read moreWhat kind of arrangement is appropriate, where should you send it, and when should you send an alternative?
Read moreWe'll help you find the right words to comfort your family member or loved one during this difficult time.
Read moreIf you’re in charge of handling the affairs for a recently deceased loved one, this guide offers a helpful checklist.
Read moreLegacy's Linnea Crowther discusses how families talk about causes of death in the obituaries they write.
Read moreThey're not a map to follow, but simply a description of what people commonly feel.
Read more