Lee Wilson Lockwood

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Lee Wilson Lockwood, who divided her time between Cleveland and Makoniky, died July 20, in Cleveland, at the age of 97. She had her final swim in the waters below her beloved Vineyard house in 2010.

Daughter of Jane Lee and Ralph B. Wilson, Lee was born in Minneapolis in 1915, and was raised in Cleveland. While still a small child, her family came to the Vineyard in the 1920s, to visit her aunt, Helen Lee Mayhew and her family, and continued to travel by car every summer to the Island.

Later on, she graduated from the Laurel School and then from Wellesley College, having been president of her class in both schools. In 1940, she married George S. Lockwood Jr., a union that lasted for 63 years until her husband’s death in 2003. They had three children – Audrey (Mrs. John Schneider), Nancy, (Mrs. Jerry Glaser) and George S. Lockwood 3rd (Sandy).

In the late 1940s she brought her children from Duluth to the Vineyard, where they rented a West Chop cottage or stayed with her mother in her Hatch Road house. In 1967, Lee and George built their house in Makoniky and always welcomed family and friends, who enjoyed sharing the beautiful view of Vineyard Sound from their wide deck.

From the beginning, she was an active member of the Vineyard Haven Yacht Club, where she played tennis and where her children learned to sail. She loved to travel and went on many trips with her husband across the world after he retired. But the Vineyard was where she chose to be in her later years, swimming every day, walking on the beach, collecting lucky stones and boat shells. Her family and friends will miss her generous nature and kindness and love for them all.

In addition to her husband, Lee was predeceased by her two sisters and a brother. She is survived by her three children and six grandchildren: Lissa Morris, Nick Cranz, Chris Schneider, Julie Baker, Amanda Verell, and Kerry Glaser. Seven great-grandsons, Jack and Matthew Schneider, David and Timothy Baker, Jake and Landon Verrell, and Austin Cranz also survive her. The Schneider boys and the Baker boys will recall their great-grandmother laughing when they wanted to borrow her cane when they were visiting her in 2011. She also leaves a niece, Sally Glendinning, and two cousins, Polly Brown and “Putter” Brown, who added much joy to her life.

Lee Lockwood may be remembered with donations to Vineyard Village at Home (P.O. Box 1356, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568) or Martha’s Vineyard Hospital (P.O. Box 1477, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557). There will be a private family gathering on the Vineyard at a later date.