Mrs. Needa Mae Lockett

Mrs. Needa Mae Moore-Lockett went home to be with the Lord on Tuesday, September 29, 2015 in Kalamazoo, MI. She was born June 6, 1926 in Dixon Mills, AL, one of twelve children born to the late Galloway and Sarah Moore. She accepted Christ at an early age at the Shiloh Baptist Church in Dixon Mills, AL. She later united with the Galilee Baptist Church in Kalamazoo and before her health declined, she fellowshipped with the Faith Temple Church of God. Needa Mae graduated from Marengo High School and enrolled in college at Alabama State University in Montgomery. While a student at ASU, she attended Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, where her Sunday School teacher was the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. She married the late Roy Lee “Sporty Cat” Lockett on December 25, 1952 in Meridian, MS. She and Roy moved to Kalamazoo in the early 1950’s and opened their homes to many family members who migrated up north and helped them to get a good start. Education was very important to Needa Mae and she always encouraged everyone to continue their education. After relocating to Kalamazoo, she also attended Kalamazoo Valley Community College. She loved children and was a teacher’s aide for many years at Lincoln and Woodward Elementary Schools and Lakeside Academy. During the summers, she worked at Brown Company, did private housecleaning and she was the main cook at the Simpson Resort in Grand Junction. Needa Mae loved the outdoors and especially loved fishing and gardening. She also loved cooking for her family and would cook all day on Saturday through Sunday. It was very important to her for everyone to be together for Sunday family dinners. There would be enough good for anyone who would stop by for a plate! She will be deeply missed by all her knew and loved her. She is preceded in death by her husband, Roy Lockett; her parents, Galloway and Sarah Moore; 11 siblings: Samuel, Noah, Bernice, Robert (“RB”), Tommy, Elizabeth, Thelma, Galloway, Bessie Pearl, Herbert Don and Herrod James. Needa Mae leaves to cherish her memory, her daughter, Pamela Bowden and a son-in-law whom she dearly loved, Donald “Cup“ Bowden; her son LaRoy Lockett and daughter, Lorraine Lockett; grandson, Shawn and Terrence Bowden and Quinton; 2 sister-in-laws, Bernice Moore and Sarah Moore; a very special, loving look-alike niece, Grace Moore!; her caregivers, Delores Bowden and her sons, Marcus and “Meer-Meer”; special friends, Richard Bowden, Melvin Hick, Leon Jones; and her next door neighbor, Mrs. Lessie Jones. She also leaves a host of special nieces, nephews and friends.

Mrs. Needa Mae Lockett

June 6, 1926 - September 29, 2015