Cover photo for Nick Lockard's Obituary
Nick Lockard Profile Photo
1940 Nick 2022

Nick Lockard

November 4, 1940 — November 7, 2022

Nick was born in Amarillo, Texas November 4, 1940.  His family moved to Natchez, Mississippi in late 1943 to be close to his maternal grandparents. They moved to Cody, Wyoming in the fall of 1949 and returned to Natchez in the summer of 1955. He attended Washington High School in Washington, Mississippi and graduated in May 1958.  During the summers of 1957 and 1958 he worked for the US Forest Service outside of Cody. He moved to San Bruno, California in August 1958.  He entered the University of California, Berkeley that fall.

On a Methodist Youth Fellowship beach outing (at the invitation of his brother) in the fall of 1958 he met Raynel (the love of his life in the Pacific Ocean). Nick and Raynel were married September 1, 1961 in San Bruno California. He left the University in late January 1960 and enlisted in the US Air Force as an aviation cadet in navigator training program.  He graduated January 27, 1961, was commissioned a 2nd Lt and received his Navigator wings. He was then assigned to the Navigator Bombardier training school at Mather AFB, CA.

Their twenty year Air Force career was composed of three major type assignments. An operational assignment in Military Airlift Transport Service, two assignments in Air Training Command and a Southeast Asia 15 month remote tour. He was assigned to the 84th Airlift Squadron (MATS) from October 1961 until February 1964. During that assignment his primary assigned aircraft was the C-133. However as navigator, instructor navigator he flew C-124, C121, C118, and C-130 aircraft on worldwide transport missions. His first Air Training Command assignment was at James Connelly AFB, Waco, TX and Mather AFB, California (1964-1969). He was military training officer, an academic instructor and a flight instructor.

In October 1969 he received orders for Southeast Asia.  After six months of redeployment preparation which included land, water and jungle survival schools and upgrade in the C130 he was assigned to the 463rd ATW Clark AFB.  During the 15 months beginning May 1969 he flew 599 sorties in Vietnam. He then returned to Air Training Command in June 1970 and served as a Wing Division Commander, followed by a tour on the ATC IG team and as a staff officer at the ATC Director of Operations.

Nick retired May 1, 1980, joined the faculty of Texas Lutheran University initially as a business administration faculty member, then served as the department chair and 1997 became the Dean of the College of Professional Studies.  He left TLU in July 2009 to become the Assistant Vice President for Student Success at Our Lady of the Lake University.  He retired from OLLU in March 2012. Nick earned a BA in Government and Economics from Sacramento State University, an MPA in management from Golden Gate University, an MBA in Marketing from Trinity University, and an EdD in Educational Administration from Baylor University.  All four degrees were earned as a non-traditional student while fully employed.

After retirement from OLLU he has taught as an adjunct for Wayland Baptist University San Antonio and served as Red Cross Volunteer at the Randolph AFB Refill Pharmacy.

Nick is survived by his wife of 61 years, Raynel, his children Nick Lockard II (Joyce), Noelle Thomas (Peter); his grandchildren Zachary Lockard (Megan), Clark Lockard, Nathan Thomas (Erika) and Nicole Thomas and his great-grandchild Ezra.

The Funeral Service will take place at 12:00PM on Monday, November 28, 2022 at Schertz Funeral Home Chapel. Interment will follow at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery

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Service Schedule

Past Services

Funeral Service

Monday, November 28, 2022

Starts at 12:00 pm (Central time)

Schertz Funeral Home and Crematory

2217 FM3009, Schertz, TX 78154

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Interment

Monday, November 28, 2022

Starts at 1:45 pm (Central time)

Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, San Antonio, Texas

TX

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