Emma Lee Locklear

Mrs. Emma Lee Locklear, 80, of 1837 Hezekiah Road, Maxton, North Carolina was born November 16th, 1940 to the late Mr. Hezekiah and Mrs. Leola Locklear. She departed this life gracefully on Monday, May 10th, 2021 at her home surrounded by immediate family.

    She was preceded in death by her husband Mr. Percell Locklear and her brother Mr. Hezekiah Locklear, Jr. She is survived by her four children Mr. Percell Locklear of Maxton, N.C., Mr. John Locklear of Maxton, N.C., Mrs. Tina Oxendine (Mr. Ron Oxendine) of Maxton, N.C., and Ms. Trina Locklear of Tuscaloosa, Alabama; two beautiful granddaughters, Mrs. Brittany Lowery (Mr. Jared Lowery) of Aberdeen, N.C. and Miss Jerzie Locklear of Maxton, N.C. She was a cherished matriarch to her four loving nieces, two nephews, numerous cousins and all extended family members.

    Mrs. Emma Lee Locklear was a graduate from Pembroke State University with a B.A. in English and a M.A. in Counseling Education from Appalachian State University. She worked 42 years before retiring from The Public Schools of Robeson County along with serving as the Director of Prospect Head Start during such time. Mrs. Emma earned the elite distinction of a community pillar after becoming the first woman to ever serve as Chairman of The Robeson County Board of Elections. She served lengthy tenures as a Robeson Community College Trustee and member of The Robeson County Mental Health Board of Directors. She was also an active Notary Republic for The State of North Carolina and member of The North Carolina School Counselors Association. Mrs. Emma Lee was elected as the first Chair of The Lumbee Tribal Elections Board and was later elected to The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina Tribal Council for District 5-Prospect\Oxendine. Her earlier accomplishments included being in the first group of Native Americans to travel to China and years as a Lumbee Regional Development Association, Inc. (LRDA) Board Member. She was always grateful and cherished her time of service with each position and hoped her desire to truly ‘help others’ was made evident. 

    Mrs. Emma Locklear served on countless civic and religious organizations which included The Givens Performing Arts Center as an annual patron and Board Member and Booster Club leader and fundraiser at Maxton High School, Townsend Middle School and Purnell Swett High School.  Mrs. Emma Lee Locklear worked tirelessly for years with NC voter registration, as a US Census Field Representative and established multiple endowment scholarships with The University of North Carolina at Pembroke. She was a proud, life-long member and devoted leader of Prospect United Methodist Church, where for decades she taught as a Sunday School teacher, and served on the Administrative Board.  She distributed commodities when needed, participated in Choir and Prospect UMC Keen-Ager’s. Mrs. Emma Locklear served as a District Committee Member of the former Rockingham District of the NCCUMC, was an avid NC Conference United Methodist Women’s (UMW) member, served as a Conference Committee Member to The North Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church, and completed five mission trips to Bolivia through the United Methodist Volunteers in Missions (UMVIM) program. 

    Mrs. Emma’s personal love of traveling included an extensive list of destinations featuring England, Scotland, Wales, Israel, Bolivia, Rome, Greece, Italy, Vatican City, and France.  Her excursions, including all 50 states, resulted in an impressive accumulation of salt ‘n pepper shakers. 

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