He was a graduate of Grinnell High School (Iowa) and attended William Penn College (now University) in Oskaloosa, Iowa. He played football in both high school and college. He married Clara Lee Hadley on November 28, 1957, and they had two daughters. He was a committed Christian and involved in the Methodist Church.
Daryl was drafted into the US Army and stationed at Fort Lewis in Tacoma, Washington, for a year before serving in Korea just after the Korean War. He then transferred to the US Air Force in Des Moines, Iowa, for four years of reserve duty. Daryl earned his Airframe and Powerplant licenses from Spartan School of Aeronautics in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He worked in the field of general aviation in Oklahoma and Texas for a few years before becoming an instructor and later program chairman of the Aircraft Maintenance Program at TSTI in Amarillo, Texas. He also taught aviation mechanics at Eastern New Mexico University—Roswell in Roswell, New Mexico, for 18 years. There he was awarded the KOSA Merit Award for Excellence as an instructor in 1993-94. Daryl was a very active member and officer in the Pecos Valley Society of Model Trainmen in Roswell. Every year he enjoyed running trains at the organization’s model railroad display at the Eastern NM State fair. He especially enjoyed going to Chama, New Mexico, several summers to do volunteer work on the Cumbres Toltec narrow-gauge railroad. Daryl was also a member of the Chaves County Search and Rescue Team and was involved in several searches around the state of New Mexico.
Daryl is survived by his wife Clara of 67 years, two daughters, Jeri and husband Gary Brown, and Lisa and husband Tony Alston. He is also survived by seven grandchildren: Meagan Brown, Houston Bullock, Wyatt Bullock, Bailey Bullock, Courtney and her husband Kiah Caudill, Cory Alston, and Emma Alston.
He was preceded in death by his parents, brother Keith Locker, and one son-in-law Brent Bullock.