One Influential Woman

Evelyn Lock      March 29, 1932 – February 26, 2021

Evelyn was one of the most influential women in my life, starting all the way back in my early high school years. Her son, Ron, and I spent a lot of time together. We became fast friends. That’s how I got to know his mom. She was incredibly caring and hospitable. I was often a guest at her table. She Could Cook! Every teenager needs a second home and I found that at the Lock house. It didn’t hurt that I lived within walking distance, not that I walked it very often. Why walk when you can drive, right Ron?

A Godly Mom. I often arrived at the Lock home at mealtime. Hmm, imagine that. Evelyn would prepare a meal, standing with the assistance of her leg braces, with her wheelchair at the end of the counter ready for her next move. Of course, that’s assuming that one of her sons hadn’t taken off with it to the front room to pop some wheelies! When she needed it she’d call for it which would begin the teasing routine. It never came back immediately. She would go through her sequence of pleas and warnings. At the time, I could only see that teasing from my own perspective – her kids were not showing her respect or not being kind to their mom. They should be making allowances and taking extra care with their mom who needed that wheelchair. What I came to see later was a woman who was determined to not play a trump card of disability to control her kids. I came to see her not as my friend’s paraplegic mom, but first and foremost a Christian woman relying on God’s strength and peace to be the best mom she could be. And underlying all of this was a great sense of humor, the give-and-take of parenting. She stood out as one of the most joyful and cheerful women I had ever been around.

Influencing Others. The Lock family took a vacation to southern Missouri in the summer of 1972. Ron invited me and I jumped at the opportunity. It was to include my one drive through visit to Ozark Bible College (Joplin) where I became a student in August 1973. Evelyn was influencing the most important decision about my education and calling. It didn’t seem like she was trying to sway me, she simply cared deeply about people. I got caught up and inundated in Evelyn’s love for God and people. 

Before I went off to college in 1973 she gave me a first edition of the New International Version (NIV) New Testament. She had already been using it, but she told me I would need it as it seemed like the Bible translation of the next generation. It did become just that, and I have worn out a few copies of the NIV Bible since then. Most Bible passages I’ve memorized have been from the NIV. 

When my own mom passed in 2002, my siblings and I sorted through her books and Bibles. I ran across a note to my mother from Evelyn from those years that I was in college. The note revealed that Evelyn was leading a women’s Bible study in which my mom was a participant. It was a note of encouragement, tucked away (I suspect) to lift my mom’s spirits more than once. 

Thank You Evelyn. In the five decades that I’ve known Evelyn Lock, she recognized my graduation from college, my ordination to ministry, my marriage, and the birth of my children, the passing of my daughter. I made it a point for my children to meet her, and for them to know the significance of this lady. She gave words of encouragement in the times of my greatest griefs. She prayed for me and my family regularly. I suspect that is what I will miss the most – the blessings she secured for me from the hand of our Lord Jesus. She is one of those I look forward to meeting again. So, to Evelyn and her kind, Revelation 14:13 (NIV) speaks of hope and reward: “Blessed are those who die in the Lord…for they will rest from their hard work; for their good deeds follow them!”