A Short Remembrance of William “Bill” Thomas Locklear III
June 30, 1950 – August 15, 2025
Billy was born in Chattanooga, TN, to W.T. “Buddy” Locklear, Jr, and Louise Jones Locklear who were recently married in 1949. He was born with a great curiosity and enjoyed learning how things worked. Early on while living in Hixson, TN, he was introduced to horses by his grandfather Dutch Jones. Horses would become a great love and a favorite hobby of his for many, many years. He became an accomplished cowboy winning many blue ribbons in the quarter horse category and learning to train and care for horses. He also became a cobbler while in high school and managed to balance his many sports activities with schoolwork, horse showing and hanging with his buddies. Most of his horse activities, including learning to shoe horses and blacksmithing took place in rural north Georgia in and around Chatsworth, GA where his grandparents (Dutch and Lillian Jones) had a large farm. Bill was the big brother to Jimmy Lockear of Decatur, GA, Debbie Locklear Buchanan of Marietta, and Jody Locklear of Port Townsend, WA.
Under the tutelage of Dutch, he learned many skills including farming, hunting and carpentry. He was an outstanding athlete and excelled in football and baseball for the Hixson community. His football prowess led to all-conference honors in Chattanooga and an opportunity to play in college at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, TN. Going to school in Clarksville led to Bill meeting the love of his life Bernedetta “Bernie” Senick. She was a local girl with lots of business skills she’d learned from her mother. They married and moved to Atlanta where Bill had a job with Eastern Air Lines. They would live most of the next fifty-three years in Atlanta, although they moved to St. Louis and Houston for short stints for Bernie’s work in fashion buying.
Bill and Bernie have two daughters: Kimberly Anne Locklear of Atlanta and Kyle Locklear Hartman of Marietta, GA. Kyle and her husband Andrew Hartman have two daughters who are Bill’s two granddaughters – James and Hannah. All of these girls and women brought much joy and happiness to Bill throughout his life. He worked hard in a variety of jobs to form a career that led him to excel in sales in the home remodeling arts and sciences.
Bill was a faithful friend to his Hixson buddies and to Bernie’s friends from Clarksville. Together they crafted a life of family, friends and fun. They had their struggles, but even in the most difficult times, they stuck together and overcame all obstacles. They enjoyed music and dancing along with sports. Bill was an accomplished cook and enjoyed hosting others. In his mid to late 60’s, Bill was hit with early onset dementia that would take away his mental and emotional light that had burned so brightly. It was a gradual decline that ended recently with his transition to heaven where he lives brightly again. Faith in God came in times of need for Bill. When he was a senior in high school and concerned for his future and asked for God’s help, and later in adult life when he struggled with addiction and needed help from the Creator to overcome destructive habits. With the help of God, AA and his parish priests, Bill had a rebirth of freedom.
He is survived by Bernie, their daughters and son-in-law, and granddaughters; the aforementioned siblings, his cousin Mickey Green and many nieces and nephews spread across the country. He is, also, survived by his aunt, Sue Green, of Marietta who has always been one of his biggest fans. Truly, loved and enjoyed by so many, Bill will be missed by so many. Our memories of him will never fade.
A Memorial Mass for Bill’s family and friends will be held on Monday August 25, 2025, at 10:00 AM at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta. His family will host a BBQ lunch following at the Garden Hills Community Building.
