ARNOLD MOORE & NEEKAMP FUNERAL HOME, BARTLESVILLE, OK - Vern Miller Lockard, age 95, joined our Lord on December 13, 2015. He died peacefully in his sleep at Green Country Village in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, surrounded by many who loved him. Vern was born to Herbert and Chloe Lockard in St. Francis, Kansas on June 7, 1920. He attended the University of Colorado where he was an honor student, outstanding football player and president of the student body. Upon completing medical school, Vern served as a captain in the Army Medical Corp from 1946-1948. He then completed his residency in radiology at Research Hospital in Kansas City. In June 1945, Vern married Doris Sigvaldson and in 1951 moved to Bartlesville, Oklahoma to raise their three children. Vern loved Bartlesville and was quite active in the community. He was a member of St. Luke's Episcopal Church, served as Senior Warden and was on the vestry for several years. He was and avid supporter and played a significant role in the development and promotion of Jane Phillips Hospital. He served on several local bank boards, as well as The Frank Phillips Foundation. He was a member of the University of Oklahoma Board of Regents in the early 70s. Vern's passion was the practice of medicine, providing diagnostic and therapeutic radiology for 50 years. He and his partner, Fred Wallingford, were two of the first radiologists in Oklahoma and took pride in providing medical care to rural communities. They traveled for years to many small town hospitals in northeastern Oklahoma and southern Kansas. They were first in the state to provide radiation therapy utilizing a cobalt machine, the forerunner to today's linear accelerator and developed an outpatient imaging center decades before it was commonplace. Most importantly, Vern loved Doris, his wife of 69 years, his children and grandchildren. There were many wonderful memories of family time at their home on Grand Lake. Vern's honesty, kindness and work ethic provided an extraordinary example to his family. His love of the Lord was reflected in his concern and compassion for all those he knew and cared for. His family and friends rejoice in his homecoming and a life well-lived. He was preceded in death by his parents, Herbert and Chloe Lockard; brother, Theodore Lockard; son, Thomas Lockard; and his loving wife, Doris, who passed away in June 2014. He is survived by his son, John Lockard and his wife, Kathryn of Tulsa, Oklahoma and Rob Lockard of Ardmore, Oklahoma; as well as five grandchildren, Sara Franden and her husband, Robert of Tulsa, Drew Lockard and his wife, Allison of Dallas, Texas, Scott Lockard and his wife, Devin of Oklahoma City, Nick Lockard of Oklahoma City, and Shelby and her husband, Riley Saunders of Norman. Vern has six great-grandchildren. A memorial service is scheduled for Thursday, December 17 at 11:00 AM at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Bartlesville. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 210 E. 9th St., Bartlesville, Oklahoma, 74003 and Cornerstone Hospice, 3414 S.E. Kentucky St., Bartlesville, Oklahoma 74006
Service Details
Thursday, December 17th, 2015, St. Luke's Episcopal Church
Interment Details
St. Luke's Episcopal Church