Thelma Locknane

Thelma June Edwards (92) was born on the family farm five miles north of Clovis. NM on May 2, 1931. She was the youngest of Murray and Ima Edwards' five children. She attended Eugene Fields Elementary, Marshall Jr. High and Clovis High School. When she was in the ninth grade her parents and two brothers all moved to 1412 Axtell St.. June enjoyed getting to walk home to eat lunch every day. When she was in high school she worked at Woolworth. After graduating from Clovis High School in 1949, she worked in the credit department at Montgomery (Monkey) Wards for a few months before she started working at the ASCS office in Clovis. She worked there until she married William Eugene Locknane. Eugene was a friend of her brother and he farmed with his dad forty miles north of Clovis near Wheatland.

Eugene and June were married June 11, 1950. They moved to the farm into a brand new 2 bedroom home close to his parents, Jesse, and Ruby Dunn Locknane. Ruby and Jesse had come to the Wheatland area with their parents in 1906 to homestead. June loved her in-laws and worked along the side of them and Eugene, raising a garden, tending to chickens, and even raising baby chickens and then dressing them to put in the freezer to eat later. June's mother had told her, as a young girl, to not learn how to milk cows, so June didn't have to help with the milking but she helped separate the cream from the milk. They sold eggs, cream and milk to supplement their income. June became a very good cook learning from her mother and mother-in-law.

In the 1950's, drought came to the area. Crops were planted but the land blew all winter long. Times became hard and Eugene found work in Clovis. In October of 1956, Eugene and June and their two daughters moved to the house that June had been born in. They had a son and daughter born after they moved there. Once the children started school, Eugene and June realized they would not be moving back to the farm to live. Between the town job and a good wheat crop Eugene and June built a new home next to the one they were living in. June loved her new home and never wanted to leave it. Another son was born after they had moved into this home. June loved her children and made many sacrifices so they could go to different places and have things they wanted. She made sure they worked to do well in school, be respectful and that they went to Sunday School and Church. Oh how happy she was when they made a profession of faith and were baptized. One thing she expected of her children was they were to be well behaved and if you were misbehaving, you were on the end of a good pinch and you changed your behavior quickly.

June encouraged her children to become involved in 4-H activities. She and Eugene both became 4-H Club leaders and did so for a combined 57 years of service. Both were inducted into the New Mexico State 4-H Hall of Fame in 2006. Sewing, cooking, dog care, needlepoint, showing steers, and whatever project the kids wanted to try she would encourage and help them with it.

June may not have learned to milk cows but she became the best tractor driver Eugene had. She helped with the farming and taking care of the cattle they raised. They were true partners in all they did.

June valued education and she encouraged all five of her children to do well in school and go on to college. She was so proud of all five when they graduated from college. After the kids left home to get married and find jobs she had time to play the piano, quilt, do counted cross stitch and play with the grandchildren that came along. Each grandchild felt they were Grandma's favorite. The grandchildren always looked forward to going to Grandma's. She would make mud pies with them, play games, read stories, make up stories to tell them and sometimes even write a book for them. The granddaughters always had someone to play paper dolls with them for hours.

June loved her church and church family. She enjoyed going to Bible studies, and church services. She went home to the Lord and her loved ones who were already there on February 16, 2024. She had a life well lived.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 54 years; her parents and in-laws; her brothers Robert Clifton Edwards, and Murray Lee Edwards; her sisters Zelda Patterson Leavelle, and Pearl Glidewell; her sister-in-law and her husband Angie and Bob Fitt.

Surviving June are her sons Bill (Denise) Locknane of Pampa, TX and Morris (Jerri) Locknane of Lubbock, TX, her daughters Karen (Don) James of Plainview, TX, Ann (Jim) Callaway of Lubbock, TX and Jane (Keith) Rowan of O'Brien, TX, 10 grandchildren and 19 great grandchildren.

Her services will be February 21, 2024, Graveside at the Wheatland Cemetery at 10:30 A.M. MST and Memorial Service at 1:00 P.M. MST at Parkland Baptist Church. In lieu of flowers the family requests that a donation be given to Parkland Baptist Church, 921 Parkland Drive, Clovis, NM 88101 or the Wheatland Cemetery Association c/o Ronnie Mackechnie 402 State Highway 231, Grady, NM 88120.