Linda Covey Locke

Born in Kingston, Ontario, Linda was the first child of Sam and Laura Covey. She welcomed sister Susan when she was just 3 years old, excited to have a new playmate. The family moved to Prescott, Ontario when the opportunity to work at Dupont presented itself to Sam. As an accountant, he enjoyed working with numbers and passed his love of math on to his first daughter. Linda was so thrilled to welcome little sister, April, when she was 11 years old, becoming like a second mother to her. Later in life, Sam decided to return to school to obtain his teacher’s certificate and taught accounting to many high school students. Linda combined her love of math and working with students into a teaching career, just like her father. She attended Queen’s University where she earned her bachelor’s degree and went on to Western, where she got her teaching degree. She met many lifelong friends at Queen’s and many of them have been part of her life to this day.

Her first job was in Chatham, Ontario. There, while volunteering for the Leighton Ford crusade, she met a young man named Stan Locke, who was working for Ford at the time. The two fell in love and were engaged to be married shortly after meeting. They moved to Kingston, where Linda taught math at Queen Elizabeth CVI and Stan worked in the new computer studies department at Queen’s. In 1973, Stan and Linda welcomed their first child, Timothy Andrew, and Linda turned her attentions to home life. Three years later, the family grew with the addition of David Michael.

After earning his MBA at Queen’s in 1977, Stan was offered a job in London, Ontario and the family moved that year. Linda enjoyed sewing clothes for her children, just like her mother had done for her and her sisters. After 3 years in London, another opportunity called the Lockes out west to Edmonton, Alberta. The whole family loved the adventure of living near the Rockies, taking advantage of the beautiful natural surroundings. In winter, they went cross-country skiing and built igloos in their backyard. In summer, they went camping with their pop-up trailer through Alberta, the rest of Canada and throughout the US, all the way down to California.

Again, adventure called, and the Locke family moved back to Ontario in 1987, this time to Mississauga. Linda began to work as a teacher again. She taught in a literacy program for adult women and found it one of the most fulfilling and rewarding jobs she had. Through her son, David, she discovered her love of children’s choirs as he sang in one of the preeminent children’s choirs in the world, the Toronto Childrens’ Chorus. She soon became involved in the volunteer committee and then became the volunteer coordinator for the entire organization. She was indispensable to the TCC, travelling around the world with them as a chaperone, turning pages for their collaborative pianist, Ruth Watson Henderson, and keeping everyone organized. She became the tour manager for the Ontario Youth Choir for a few years and used her incredible skills to ensure smooth tours for the OYC.

When she retired from teaching in 2001, she turned her energies to her volunteer work. She continued to volunteer for the TCC and became an elder in her church, Kingsway-Lambton United, organizing many Alpha courses over the years. She loved sitting down and telling curious people about Jesus. She and Stan also continued to travel around the world, visiting London, England and Melbourne, Australia several times and taking cruises with her sisters and their husbands. She absolutely loved to travel and see new places, but she enjoyed returning to familiar locations to visit with dear friends around the world. Highlights of her adventures include China, Japan, Egypt, Israel, Italy and South Africa, along with many European countries.

Linda welcomed two daughters-in-law to her family, Melissa and Joy, in the early 2000’s. 6 grandchildren came along: Thomas, Samuel, Daniel, Jonathan, Matthew and Anna. Each grandchild traveled to Florida with Linda and Stan for a week in their junior kindergarten year to experience Disney and swimming in the ocean. Linda spent 2 days a week with her grandchildren, taking one of them each time on different adventures around the city or playing at home.

All her life, Linda loved music. She sang songs with her sisters while they did the dishes at home or at the cottage, sang hymns in church (always taking the alto part) and sang in several choirs, including the Oriana Singers, KLUC church choir and Grace Notes. In high school, she played the tenor sax and learned to play the snare drum for the marching band. She supported many musical ensembles in Toronto and abroad.

In June 2023, Linda suffered a minor stroke. She recovered quickly and spent 4 weeks in rehab with her dear friend, Jean Bartle, who had knee replacement surgery. The two were commiserating about their woes, talking about how they would look back at their time together and laugh. Less than 6 weeks later, a second and much more serious stroke occurred on her birthday. She lost the use of her left hand and leg and suffered more permanent effects, which led to a move for her to the Village of Humber Heights where she could receive full-time care. On Wednesday, January 24, she contracted Influenza A and succumbed to the illness on Friday, January 26. Her last days were filled with prayer, singing hymns, reading scripture, and holding hands.