Jene Lockie, 91

Jan. 26, 1926 —

March 28, 2017

 

Cresco -  Jene Arleigh (Miskimins) Lockie, of Cresco, Iowa passed away on Tuesday, March 28, 2017 at Evans Memorial Home in Cresco. She was 91 years old.  

Funeral services were held on April 1, 2017 at the United Methodist Church in Cresco.  Burial was in Oak Lawn Cemetery, Cresco.  Lindstrom Funeral Home handled the arrangements.

Jene was born at home on Jan. 26, 1926 near Riceville, Iowa to John Gadis and Margaret Magdelene (Meyers) Miskimins. She attended country school and was a 1942 graduate of Riceville High School, graduating early, at the age of 16. 

Following graduation, Jene taught at a country school, then attended and graduated from Hamilton Business College in Mason City, Iowa. Her first job was as a legal secretary for a law firm in Osage, Iowa.

On Sept. 8, 1946, Jene and Reed Lockie were united in marriage at the Congregational Church in Riceville. Thus began their 49-year marriage, where they lived and farmed in the Riceville and Cresco areas. To this union they were blessed with four children, Gordon, Deborah, Maureen and James.

Jene was a loving and supportive wife, mother and grandmother. She shared her talents as a homemaker and gardener by creating many wonderful meals for family and friends using produce harvested from her garden. Her home frequently had a bouquet of fresh flowers she had grown, picked and arranged from her flower gardens.

Throughout Jene’s lifetime, in addition to her involvement in the family farm, she worked as a secretary for the Riceville and Howard Winneshiek Community School Districts. In 1986 she began a 20-year career working in the garden center at Wal-Mart in Decorah, Iowa. It was here she was able to share her passion for gardening with customers and formed many lasting relationships.

Jene was a member of the Cresco United Methodist Church and Circle. She was active in several community organizations including the Cresco Garden Club, Howard County 4-H, Northern Stars Neighborhood Club and Cresco Saddle Club.

Four children survive Jene, Gordon (Jeanine) Lockie of Riceville, Deborah (Robert Goold) VanArkel of Grinnell,  Iowa, Maureen (Tom) Shroyer of Decorah and James (Lisa) Lockie of Elmwood, Wis.; nine grandchildren, Andrew (Melissa) Lockie, Erin (Mike) Shea, Michael (Amy) Lockie, Rachel (Nick) Boyle, Emily (Jonathan) Klein, Thea (Tobias) McCarthy, John (Cecilia) Shroyer, Ellen Shroyer and Elizabeth Shroyer; and 12 great-grandchildren.

Jene was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Reed Lockie; son-in-law, Craig VanArkel; five sisters, Frances Miskimins (in childhood), Calista Day, Helen Hubacher, Gladys Lange and Margaret Broghammer; and one brother, Robert Miskimins.