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Obituary: Julie Ann Lockett

Fri, Oct 6th 2017 01:45 pm
Julie Ann Lockett of Grand Island entered into rest Sept. 27, 2017.
Julie was born in Stoke-on-Trent, England, a descendant of pottery workers and coal miners. She never lost the distinctive accent of her birthplace.
Her parents divorced when she was 3 and she was raised by her father and grandmother. She excelled at school and was particularly talented in science and art. After winning a scholarship to London University, she graduated with a bachelor's degree in botany and zoology. Subsequently, she taught biology in a wide range of schools in England, including inner-city schools, the top-ranked girl's school in Cambridge, an all-boys Jesuit grammar school where she was the only female member of staff, and head of biology at a junior college.
She lived in the small village of Goostry, Cheshire, for 15 years, where she enjoyed growing gooseberries competitively and was elected to the village council. After moving to the USA with her husband and children, after a short period in Texas, she settled in Grand Island where she lived for 35 years, cultivating a large English garden.
Despite 10 years of teaching experience in England, she could only teach in New York state as a substitute, and so she enrolled at Buffalo State College for a master's degree in education. Immediately after graduation, she was appointed as a lecturer at Buffalo State, and for 15 years she was a very popular and inspirational teacher of biology to generations of students.
One of her passions was Scottish terrier dogs, after she had her first Scottie at the age of 5, and for many years she wrote a monthly newsletter giving health tips for other owners. She had many friends in the worldwide community of Scottie owners.
She also loved to travel. As a student, she spent one summer hitchhiking throughout Europe and the next traveling all over the U.S. and Canada by Greyhound bus. After retirement, she traveled extensively, including visits to Nepal, China, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, and, memorably for a biologist, she sailed around the Galapagos Islands in the Beagle sailboat. After being able to see so much of the world, she always said that her favorite place was her home on Grand Island with her family, garden and Scottie dogs.
She was diagnosed with cancer of the duodenum 15 months before she died in Hospice Buffalo at the age of 74. She is survived by her husband, Michael, and children: James Lockett (Kathleen), Josephine Hegarty (Denis), and John Lockett (Michelle) together with grandchildren: Charles, Margaret and Catherine Hegarty, and Thomas, Connor, Kaleigh and Bridget Lockett.
Memorial services will be held Wednesday, Oct. 11, at 4 p.m. at Trinity United Methodist Church, 2100 Whitehaven Road, Grand Island. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Hospice Buffalo. Arrangements by Kaiser Funeral Home.
Julie Ann Lockett

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