Marjorie Mae Armstrong Lockwood

Marjorie was born October 2, 1920, in San Francisco, CA, to Margaret (Doddridge) and Thomas Armstrong. Shortly after, the family moved to Chicago, then Crystal Lake to Maple St, where she lived the majority of her life, graduating from CLCHS in 1938. The class of 1938 picture still hangs in the halls of CLCHS.

On August 3, 1940, she married Laverne (Hap, aka the Mayor of Maple St) Lockwood in Dubuque, Iowa. Why Dubuque? They eloped to Iowa because Illinois required a physical and Iowa didn't, and they didn't want to wait. So off they went to Dubuque, got married, and returned to Rockford where they planned to spend the night in a hotel there. Their plans were foiled at this point because somehow the Crystal Lake fire department (back then all able bodied men were members of the volunteer fire department) arrived at the Rockford hotel and advised them to come out. Marj and Hap were “kidnapped” back to Crystal Lake in separate cars to a bar where everyone partied until 4am.

During World War II, Marj worked for X-Ray Products in Los Angeles, CA, where she had gone to stay in the hopes of being closer to any leave Hap might get from his tour in the Pacific. By 1946 they were back in Crystal Lake, building their home on Maple St.

Marj was an avid bridge player, so her daughter thought it best she be cremated with a deck of cards. Her last words to her daughter were, “Want to play cards?”

Marj is survived by her daughter, Peggy Gilbert of Albuquerque, two granddaughters, Kellie Gilbert of Albuquerque, and Melanie Oliver of Sheboygan, WI; 7 nieces, Dolores Pryzybyl Edfors, Trisha Edfors Vallee (both of whom were Marj’s guardian angels), Vickie Lockwood, Julie Lockwood Amdal, Debbie Koch Steward, Pam Koch Simonsen, Cindy Koch Wilson; and 2 nephews, Mike Lockwood and Jim Koch; a special “second daughter” Leslee Johnson; her wonderful neighbors on Maple St.who enabled her to remain there for so long; her ever faithful Bridge Buddies.

Marj is preceded in death by both her parents, her brother Tom, a nephew Glenn Lockwood, and husband, Hap, who passed away in 2002.

Visitation will be held from 10am-12pm on Saturday, April 8 at Querhammer and Flagg Funeral Home, 500 W Terra Cotta Ave in Crystal Lake.