Beverly Lee Hickman Lockridge

Beverly Lee Hickman Lockridge spent her childhood on the Hickman family farm outside Marshall, Missouri. She enjoyed reflecting on her childhood and sharing stories of her experiences as the only child of Bill and Mary Hickman. Many of her favorite memories centered around her pony, Cupid, and their adventures … particularly winning blue ribbons together in the Marshall town parades or exploring the creek banks, fields and woods on the farm. She loved to bottle-feed the baby lambs, play in the big family garden and fish in the pond. She made many lifelong friends while attending school in Marshall, both students and teachers. In third grade she met her childhood sweetheart, John Lockridge. After she attended Christian College and he completed his degree at Colorado School of Mines, they married in 1952, started careers and began a family. John’s career meant frequent moves … beginning in Boulder, CO and Craig, CO (where both daughters, Nancy Lee and Mary Laura were born). The moves continued … including Rock Springs, WY; Durango, CO; Scarsdale, NY; Wichita, KS; Midland, TX; Casper, WY; Boulder, CO and finally Golden, CO. Throughout all those transfers, Beverly became quite the expert at moving and making each new house a real home. Once settled in Golden, Beverly used her ability to think in 3-D and artistic talents to design their dream home. Their beautiful home was the ideal background to exhibit Bev’s interior design skills along with special antiques collected from their family homes and travels. Beverly and John divorced after 30 plus years of marriage. Bev continued to enjoy the beautiful home she had lovingly designed. It was there that she cared for her aging mother, Mary Hickman. It was also during this time that Bev resumed tap dancing, something she had enjoyed as a child, which led to years of fun and new friends. Soon, life brought widower and neighbor Bill Deck into Bev’s life. Together they found their second chance at love. Bill won Bev’s heart with his smile, stories and weekly bouquets of fresh flowers from his garden. The sweethearts had twelve wonderful years together … sharing childhood memories of farm life, daily walks along Clear Creek, a mutual love of gardening and adventures exploring Colorado, Utah and New Mexico. Beverly was always curious, had a keen sense of observation and was interested in a variety of things. A love of nature was clearly evident throughout her life … it brought her joy to observe nature in detail and share that joy with others. She had a special love for flowers, gardening and watching the birds and other wildlife outside her home. She enjoyed road trips and exploring the country with her daughters and son-in-law with destinations from Hershey, PA to the Northwestern National Parks. Annual trips to the Santa Fe Indian Market created years of wonderful family memories. Other interests included needlepoint, watercolor, creating handmade silk flowers, sewing hundreds of gingerbread boys for Children’s Hospital, reading, the Kansas City Chiefs and solving wooden jigsaw puzzles. Daughter Nancy and her husband Bruce Kittinger live in Severna Park, MD. Laura makes her home in Houston, TX . A formal service is not planned, however, the family hopes to celebrate Beverly’s life with friends and family later this spring. Memorial gifts may be made to Farm Sanctuary (farmsanctuary.org), Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (suwa.org) or American Indian College Fund (collegefund.org).