Charles David Lockwood

Charles David Lockwood, 75, died April 10 at Valley View Assisted Living in John Day.

Mr. Lockwood was born April 28, 1938, in Myrtle, S.D. At age 7, he moved to Hillsboro, and at age 9, he went to Eugene to live with his uncle for a year. He lived with a foster family for three years, and at age 14, moved to Umpqua, where he lived with his mother until he was 18.

He began working on a dairy farm in Mt. Angel, feeding and milking cows. At age 20, he joined the U.S. Army, where he was trained as a lineman and mechanic, traveling to California, Georgia and Korea. After three years of military service, he returned to Myrtle Creek, where he managed a dairy farm for three years.

Deciding to follow the sunshine, he then took a job at a cattle ranch in California, where he worked as a cowboy riding all day and helping with ranching and cattle round-ups. He followed that with three years working at Merrits Melon Farm, where he raised melons, cotton and milo, and repaired and welded ranch equipment, cotton pickers, combines and milling machines.

Homesick, he headed back to Salem where he met his future wife, Judy. They got to know each other during a seasonal job picking cherries they undertook with a group of friends.

They soon married, and bought property near Mt. Angel. She brought six children into the marriage, and to support the large family, he worked at a dairy farm in Hillsboro for nine years, until they divorced.

He began working at a dairy farm near Silverton. There he met and helped a young girl, Michelle, who introduced him to her mother, Betty. They married in 1986, and lived in Staton for 10 years, where he worked at a dairy farm.

In 1999, at age 62, he was attacked by a bull that threw him 20 feet into the air. Following those injuries, his doctor suggested it was time to retire.

The couple moved to Mt. Vernon, where the lived on Ingle Street before buying a home in Dayville, where they lived until Betty’s death in 2010.

Due to health issues, he moved to Blue Mountain Care Center in Prairie City, and then to Valley View last October.

His hobbies included woodworking in his full workshop, and playing games, especially chess and backgammon. He won several blue ribbons for his painted ceramics at the Grant County Fair, and also enjoyed gardening at Valley View, where he grew bell peppers to share with friends.