Obituary of LeRoy Lockwood

A memorial service for LeRoy Lockwood, age 95, of Spirit Lake, will be held Tuesday, January 22, 2019 at 10:30AM at United Methodist Church in Spirit Lake. Visitation will begin one hour prior to the service at the church. LeRoy Roscoe (Butch) Lockwood passed away on January 6, 2019 at Hospice of the Valley, in Scottsdale, AZ at the age of 95. He was born on May 3, 1923 on a farm in Larrabee, IA to Matthew and Icyel Lockwood. He was married to Joyce Ducommun for 66 years. He farmed for 39 years in Cleghorn, Iowa and was active in the community by being a school board member, church board member and assisted in setting up the rural water system in Cherokee county. After retiring from farming, he worked for State Farm Insurance as a Crop Hail Adjuster. Butch and Joyce enjoyed retirement by purchasing a summer home in Spirit Lake, Iowa and a winter home in Texas. In 1999, they purchased their snowbird home in Sun City, Arizona when their oldest daughter and son-in-law moved to the area. During their golden years, Butch and Joyce enjoyed taking road trips in their mini home, spending time with their grandchildren, square dancing and visiting the Minnesota State Fair. Butch will be greatly missed as he had an infectious personality and was loved by all who met him. He could remember everyone's birthday, fix anything presented to him and was a whiz at math. He was a very social and active man who enjoyed spending time with friends and family by fishing on Lake Okoboji, playing cards, being an active member in church, participating in the Golden Kiwanis club in Spirit Lake and volunteering at the local nursing home during and after his wife's passing. Butch was preceded in death by his wife Joyce Lockwood in 2011; sister Joyce and her husband Clarence Bengtson; and brother-in-laws Wayne Ducommun and Galen Ducommun. Butch is survived by Jolyne (daughter) and Amir Ghanatabadi of Phoenix, Arizona; Jane (daughter) and Larry Kruger, of Rochester, Minnesota; Mark (son) and Kim Lockwood of Cherokee, Iowa; his grandchildren Erica and Clint Harrison, Jeffery and Jennie-Beth Kruger, Matthew and Christina Lockwood, Rebecca and Brent Wathke, Katherine and Jason Carlson, 8 great grandchildren and sister-in-laws Jeri Ducommun and Patricia Ducommun. A Celebration of Life will take place on Monday, January. 14, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. at Willowbrook United Methodist Church at 19390 N. 99th Avenue, Sun City, Arizona 85373. A second celebration will take place on Tuesday, January 22, 2019 at 10:30AM at the United Methodist Church in Spirit Lake. Internment will be at Cedar Cemetery in Larrabee, Iowa.