An impressive crowd of family, friends, and colleagues were on hand to say good-bye to Goldie Locke this morning at Good Shepherd Catholic Church. Several Council members and Plan Commissioners were there, as well as NAACP members and members from her church. I posted some of my feelings earlier but the obituary in today's Dallas Morning News does the best job of telling her unique life story that I've yet seen.
 

Goldie Irene Locke: Advocate for improving education for black students

12:07 PM CDT on Saturday, September 20, 2008
By JOE SIMNACHER / The Dallas Morning News
jsimnacher@dallasnews.com

With the assistance of a relative and portable oxygen, Goldie Irene Locke made an impassioned plea before the executive board of the NAACP Garland Branch two weeks before she died.     Concerned that black students in Garland were lagging others in academic performance, she asked the group to continue her fight for minority children.     Ms. Locke's effort was the culmination of an adult life dedicated to an array of public service work, from serving as the founding president of the NAACP branch to representing her District 2 neighborhood on the city's Plan Commission. She was especially respected for her efforts to improve the educational opportunities of minority of children in Garland.     Ms. Locke, 71, died Sept. 13 of complications from cancer at Baylor Medical Center at Garland.     A Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. today at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Garland. She will be buried at Hickory Grove Cemetery in Wolfe City, Texas.     Ms. Locke had originally asked her former colleague Dorothy Brooks to attend the board meeting for her.     To Ms. Brooks' surprise, Ms. Locke attended the meeting. Once again, Ms. Locke made a difference.     "She didn't think people were hearing her," Ms. Brooks said. Ms. Locke urged the board not to accept the current academic performance levels, but to renew the effort toward improvement.     Ms. Locke attended the meeting despite her failing health to illustrate the importance of others continuing her long-term dedicated efforts.     "She was concerned that that kind of

tenacity was being lost," Ms. Brooks said. "I'm not sure if she wasn't right."     Annie Dickson of Garland, who worked with Ms. Locke in community service, admired her friend's dedication and frankness. "She never straddled the fence on issues; she was very straightforward," Ms. Dickson said.     The two women had been friends throughout much of Ms. Locke's effort to win equal education opportunities in Garland.     "Goldie has always been a champion for children's rights, African-American children," Ms. Dickson said.     "We won a lot of battles, we lost a few, but Goldie was there and on top of things."     Ms. Locke had been a leader of the NAACP Garland Branch since it was chartered in July 1984. The substandard quality of education for minority students was a major topic of the group's first meeting. The branch was an original plaintiff in a lawsuit that led to the court-ordered desegregation of the Garland Independent School District.     "She was a trailblazer," Ms. Dickson said. "She was the first female in Garland to ever run for anything."     Ms. Locke made unsuccessful bids for the Garland City Council and the school board.

She later helped Ms. Dickson get elected to the council and be the first minority to run for mayor in 2000, Ms. Dickson said.     Ms. Dickson appointed Ms. Locke to the Garland Plan Commission, where she served 12 years.     Ms. Locke was born in Wolfe City, Texas. She graduated from Lincoln High School in Dallas in 1955.     She attended Paul Quinn College and received an associate's degree in drafting from Eastfield College. She worked for E-Systems, now part of Raytheon Co., her family said.     She had lived in Garland since 1970.     Ms. Locke did not have children but had raised several, including a nephew, Robert Locke, whom she had cared for since he was 5 years old. Robert is now a sophomore at Garland High School.     Ms. Locke is also survived by Denise Richards of Ponder, Texas, whom she raised as a daughter; three brothers, Wilbert Locke and Robert Locke, both of Lubbock, and O.C. Locke of Denver; and Ms. Richards' three children.     The NAACP Garland Branch has started the Goldie Locke Scholarship Fund, for Robert Locke's college education, at the Synergy Bank Downtown Center, 603 W. Main St., Suite 101, Garland, Texas 75040.

 
UPDATE: The Garland News also carried a story on Goldie in its September 18 issue, which is available to subscribers for download at the paper's website:
 

Goldie Locke, a woman of distinction

By Linda Jaresh

Goldie I. Locke, Civil Rights leader and community activist died Saturday.     Goldie was the founding president and charter member of the Garland Branch of the NAACP, and was the rock on which the group depended for many years. Her legacy of hard work set a course that has guided the group since its founding.     Goldie will also be remembered for the 10 years she served as a volunteer member of the City Plan Commission. One of her standard requests to developers seeking the Plan Commission’s approval of a new development was that they include flowering plants in their landscaping.     Goldie’s friends, co-workers and loved ones had this to say about this remarkable woman:     "I’ve been fortunate to see the city of Garland and the GISD from three vantage points.     "My first encounter was as a student and going through the changes that were brought about by the [school] integration movement in Garland and GISD. My second encounter was as a teacher and the third was as an administrator. Goldie was the catalyst for change and for equal rights for all citizens. She was a very well known community activist. We will miss Goldie and all the things she held dear to her heart." – John Washington     “Goldie Locke was one of the first persons I met when I moved to Garland in 1993. From then until her recent illness kept her from doing some of the work she espoused, she was still working feverishly to make life better. For human rights and civil rights, there has not been a more dedicated and consistent fighter. Goldie had an “in your face” attitude until you corrected what she thought was wrong. I will miss Goldie for her insistence on a quality education for all children and her kind spirit to people she loved, and even those whose ideas were contrary to her own. Garland is a better place because God allowed her to pass this way. 'Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot heal.'" – Delores Elder Jones

"I loved Goldie because she thought about those kids most people fail to think of fi rst. When she created and founded the Excel Awards program, she was really thinking about those children who are never recognized for anything.     "They are good kids; maybe quiet, but well mannered and they may not be on the honor roll or have an A or B average. In Goldie’s mind these were the kids who literally go through school as a Cipher in the Snow. Because of Goldie, and as long as there is an Excel Awards program, those that might never be recognized will have their name called – they will come to the stage, receive a trophy or certificate and have their photo taken. These kids will have their day because of Goldie Locke." Since the beginning of the Excel Awards program in 1996, many of the awardees have graduated from high school, attended college and are now living productive lives, in large part because of the encouragement received through the Excel Awards program. – Dr. Joyce Miller     "When I first moved to Garland in the mid-’80s, I read a letter on education in the old Garland News that was written by a Ms. Goldie Locke.     "It was so well crafted and thoughtful that I felt reassured knowing the city had such remarkable talent. I had been wondering just where in the world my husband had moved me. I knew nothing more about this person, not age, not race, or all of her accomplishments until about three years later when I met her and she became that wonderful rare gift in my life. I also remember her little hot car and her driving – Hmmm." – Lee Lutz

"In the 30 plus years I have lived in Garland, Goldie was always involved wherever and whenever service and commitment was needed to help fight injustice both in our schools and our community, and help make Garland and its environment more accessible to all its citizens.     "Anyone who was committed to serve our great city soon knew or knew of Goldie Locke. Her unique name was memorable, but her dedication and love for Garland was even more so. I was privileged to serve with her on her last assignment as part of the GISD Multi-Ethnic Committee. Her consistent and tireless efforts over the years have helped shape Garland into a better and more diverse city." – David Lyons     "Goldie served as a mentor to all of us. She worked untiring hours throughout her adult life in Garland to help eliminate the injustices in our local municipality and in our school district. Unfortunately, despite all of us who learned from Goldie, there is no one among our group who possesses what it takes to stand in the gap for her." – Gwen Daniels

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