Obituary of John Marshall Locklin

A Celebration of Life service for John Marshall Locklin, Sr., 85, will be held on Wednesday, February 6, 2013, at 11:00 a.m. at First Baptist Church in Talladega with the body lying in state for one hour prior to the service. Rev. Benjamin Crawford and Dr. Dennis Jones will officiate. Burial will follow at Pine Hill Cemetery, Talladega. Pall bearers will be grandsons. Honorary pallbearers will be members of Terry King's Sunday School Class, Hubert Hubbard, Dr. George Ricker, Lindsey Stephens, and James Upchurch. John was born on May 31,1927, in Monroeville, Alabama, to Anderson J. and Irene Moore Locklin. He attended Monroe County High School and Marion Military Institute, graduating in 1945. He attended Alabama Polytechnic Institute (today Auburn University) from 1945-47. His fraternity was Kappa Alpha. In 1947 he dropped out of school to go into business in Monroeville. In 1948 he married his high school sweetheart, Lela Coxwell Lewis, and they lived in Monroeville for the next thirteen years. At one time John and his brother Charles owned Locklin Lumber Company, a small sawmill operation. John owned and operated the Sinclair Safety Service Station for a few years, and then Locklin Furniture Company. He also worked with his brother A. J. in the Quality Cash Grocery Store. In September 1961, John and Lela with their three children set out on a great adventure, a return to college in Auburn. Since John was legally blind, his textbooks were recorded by the Library for the Blind in New York and sent to him each quarter. He then played these records on a Talking Book machine, which enabled him to keep up with the large amount of reading in his course of study. In 1963 he received a BA degree in Sociology. He and his family then moved to Tuscaloosa where he obtained a master's degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of Alabama. The family then moved to Talladega where he worked as a counselor for the mentally challenged under the state Vocational Rehabilitation Service from 1965 to 1981 when he joined the staff of the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind as administrator of adjustment services, retiring in 1983. Active in community affairs, John served from 1972-84 on Talladega-Clay-Randolph Mental Health Board. He helped to organize the North Talladega County Association for Retarded Citizens (ARC) and served as president in 1974. He was active in Talladega Civitan Club for more than 25 years serving two terms as president. In 1976 he received a plaque at the dedication of the new Cheaha Mental Health Center, Sylacauga, in appreciation for outstanding and dedicated service in helping to get the center started. He was an active member of First Baptist Church, Talladega. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Lela Lewis Locklin; sons John M. Locklin, Jr. (Amy) and Lewis Edward Locklin (Dee); daughter Lela Locklin Crawford (Leslie); grandchildren Jason Locklin (Shelley), Katy Wright (Scott); Emily Burt (Craig); Benjamin Crawford; Matt Crawford (Megan); Jac Crawford; Taylor Locklin; great¬grandchildren Kinsley and Cooper Wright, Greyson Crawford, and Kale Burt. He is also survived by one brother Robert R. Locklin, brother-in-law W. Michael Lewis, sister-in-law Thelma Lewis, and numerous nieces and nephews. Visitation will be held on Tuesday, February 5, 2013 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Usrey Funeral Home. Memorials can be made to the Locklin-Lewis Memorial Scholarship Fund or First Baptist Church. Usery Funeral Home will direct the services.