Hellen Arnold Lock

  Hellen Arnold Lock of Willow Park, Texas, left this world December 30, 2024. She passed peacefully with her husband and son by her bedside.

  Hellen was born November 13, 1928, in Peerless, Texas. She and her four siblings were raised by their mother, grandparents and uncles in their grandparents' small wooden farmhouse. Hellen and her siblings spent much of their childhood helping their grandfather in the cotton fields along with many other farm chores. She and her siblings were often referred to by residents of Peerless as the "Friendly Five." Hellen was the last of the "Friendly Five" to pass.

  She graduated from North Hopkins High School in 1947. Hellen was an accomplished basketball player. During her senior year she was captain of the basketball team and class president.

  Hellen was a hard worker from an early age, who had many jobs and wore many different hats during her life. Her first employment was when she and her sister, Jo, worked at a dime-store in Sulfur Springs, Texas. She remembered being paid twenty-five cents an hour, and told the story, “If you were caught pinching some candy from the candy counter, it would be docked from your pay."

  Shortly after graduating from high school Hellen moved to Fort Worth, Texas to live with her older sister, Laska. With Laska's help, she obtained a job at General Dynamics working in the blueprint shop. Hellen met the love of her life, Fred H. Lock, while working at General Dynamics. The story of their meeting goes as follows: Hellen and Fred met in 1949 at a square-dancing event held at Trinity River Park. A few days after the square dance, Fred’s supervisor told him there was a young lady in blueprints asking about him, and that maybe he should go check out a blueprint. Needless to say, he followed his supervisor’s advice. 

  Fred and Hellen were married July 23, 1950, in Fort Worth, Texas. On August 13, 1951, Fred and Hellen gave birth to their first and only child, John M. Lock.

  Fred was called back into the service during the Korean War, and after the war ended, he decided to make the Air Force his career. In 1957, Fred and Hellen were stationed at Boeing Aircraft Company, Seattle Washington. Shortly thereafter they were transferred to Altus AFB, Altus, Oklahoma. In 1960, they were transferred to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. In Dayton, Ohio, Hellen got a job in Defense Electronics. Her work consisted of tracking and auditing electronic equipment used in nuclear bombers, missiles, and submarines.

  In 1962, they were transferred to Earnest Harmon Air Force Base in Stephenville, Newfoundland Canada. There wasn’t work for Hellen in Newfoundland, so she took up making quilts. She produced many beautiful quilts during the long dark winters. She gave many of these quilts to friends and family.

  In 1965, Fred and Hellen were transferred to Pope Air Force Base/Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina. At Fort Bragg, Hellen got a job working in the Continental Army Intelligence Center (CONTIC). She assisted in electronic tracking and surveying of potential drop sites for the 82nd airborne around the world. She received multiple promotions and possessed a security clearance that would have allowed her to board Air Force One, if needed.

  In 1969, Fred retired from the Air Force and the two of them moved back to Fort Worth, eventually settling in Willow Park, Texas in 1976. Hellen always wanted to work, and she acquired a job with the Army Corps of Engineers in Fort Worth working on surveys of lakes and reservoirs. She finally retired in 1986.

  From 1991 to 1997, Fred and Hellen traveled weekly between Willow Park and Austin Texas to help John raise their three grandchildren.

  Hellen spent the remaining years of her life working diligently in her yard/garden, and meandering through antique shops all over Texas. At last count she had a collection of 54 oil lamps.

  Hellen was preceded in death by her grandparents, John and Agnes Evans whom she adored; her mother, Bessie Hope Evans Arnold; uncles, Marvin, Bascom and Sam Evans; brothers, Jeff D Arnold and Billy Len Arnold; sisters, Laska Champ Hahn and Mary Jo Williams.

  She is survived by her husband, Fred H. Lock; her son, John M. Lock; grandchildren, Julie Lock Lambert and husband, Peter, Christy Lock Sutton and husband, Andrew, and Brian John Lock; great-grandchildren, Henry Wallace Lambert, Clyde William Lambert, and Madison Leigh Sutton.

  Hellen through the eyes of her grandchildren:

  Hellen Arnold Lock was known as “Grandma” to her three grandchildren, their spouses, and her three great-grandchildren. Grandma was a woman who loved her family with all her heart, and was loved back and respected greatly by them all. She taught us to think for ourselves, not get caught up in material things, ask questions, always be fair to others, and to be true to oneself. 

   A few years after retiring, she signed up for one of the most challenging jobs of her life. She put retired life on pause and moved to Austin to help raise her three grandchildren who were eleven, eight, and three at the time. She spent the next six years helping to raise us during challenging times. She was a second mother to us, when our mother was ill and unable to fill the role, she intended to. She showed great patience with her grandchildren. Despite her grandchildren’s efforts to often resist her advice, her sacrifices helped her grandchildren grow to be honest and compassionate individuals. 

  She was funny and had an ability to make others laugh along with her. Her clever sense of humor and quick-wittedness was appreciated by us all.

  There were often long discussions, enjoyed with her at her kitchen table, that usually included topics related to events from the past, current affairs, politics, and one’s life. During these visits, she often convinced us to sit and have a glass of her iced tea, and even those that didn’t drink iced tea would finally surrender to her offering for a glass. She’d tell you how her sweet tea was better than most and that the white grape juice she mixed in it was the reason for this. She’d offer you something sweet to eat with your tea. A favorite was her delicious rum cake, which was the only time alcohol entered her house. 

  She loved antiques and would happily give you a tour of her antique oil lamps, throughout her house. Her house was filled with plants, including 20-30 African violets. In recent years, she discovered that one of her great-grandchildren had an appreciation for both African violets and oil lamps, which we can only imagine made her feel like she’d raised us right! 

  For an old-fashioned lady, she was ahead of her time. She reduced, reused and recycled before that was a catchy slogan, and was the only grandma we know that broke her arm on a skateboard, as a grandma. She was a cool one! To sum her up in one word, it would be: Superwoman.

  Visitation will be held at Galbreaith Pickard Hilltop Chapel (4941 Interstate Highway 20 Frontage Rd., Willow Park, Texas) from 12:00 noon to 6:00 p.m., on Saturday, January 25, 2025. Family will be present for a reception at the Hilltop Chapel from 12:00 noon to 3:00 p.m.

  Burial will be at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery, 2:15 p.m., Monday, January 27, 2025.