Robert E. “Bob” Lockhart slipped from his earthly cloak into the arms of his Savior on August 30, 2026 at age 95. He will finally join his beloved wife, Ruby Jewell, who passed in 2011 after 59 years of marriage. He was preceded in death by his parents, William Clay Lockhart and Martha Evelyn Davis Lockhart, and his sister, Janet Battin (Mike).
He is survived by his son, William Bret of Mesa, Ariz., and his daughter, Beth Ann Gold (Chris) of Daleville; grandchildren, Jessica Allen (Adam) of Mesa, Ariz., Jeremy Clay (Joy) of Roseville, Calif., and Emily Reburn (Tyler) of Salem. Surviving great-grandchildren are Dillon, Abby, Briley and Emmy of Mesa, Ariz., Conner and Evelyn of Salem, and Ivy and Reed of Roseville, Calif. Also surviving are his nephew and nieces, Jeff McMullen, Joyce McMullen and Jeannie Ramey of Virginia, and his niece, Tamra Gould of Georgia. Others include cherished relatives, friends, and his Fincastle United Methodist Church family.
He was born February 16, 1931, in Ravenswood, W.Va., during the Great Depression and was raised in Parkersburg, W.Va., graduating in 1949 from Parkersburg High School. He completed his B.S. Degree in Forest Management in 1953 from West Virginia University. During the Korean War he served his country honorably as a still photographer in Germany.
Following his discharge, he began an eventful career with the U.S. Forest Service in the George Washington National Forest at Buena Vista in June 1955. In 1957 he was promoted to District Forest Ranger on a newly created District on the Allegheny National Forest in Ridgway, Pa. Other assignments saw him serving on four Ranger districts, six National Forests, three Forest Supervisor offices, a Regional Forest Office, the Chiefs Office in Washington, D.C. (where he conducted a study that resulted in the staffing of National Forests with law enforcement personnel), and in two state and private area offices (where he provided organization management assistance to 18 State Forestry offices).
In 1961, he was chosen to portray a District Forest Ranger in a movie produced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture depicting the many uses of the National Forests. Also, in 1961 he was selected as one of three employees nationwide to pursue and receive a Master’s Degree in Wildfire Management at Yale University. In 1965 he was selected as one of three District Rangers to serve as guides at Lady Bird Johnson’s White House Conference on Natural Beauty.
In 1970 he left the USFS temporarily to become the first Head of Forest Technology to train Forest Technicians at Dabney Lancaster Community College (now Mountain Gateway CC) in Clifton Forge. He led the program for five years, leaving as Associate Professor. He returned to the USFS in 1975 and retired in 1987 while residing in Cadillac, MI.
He has been a Golden Member of the Society of American Foresters since 1953. He enjoyed woodworking and created beautiful and functional pieces of furniture. His musical talent was playing the jug in the WVU Forestry Jug Band with whom he enjoyed participating even into retirement. After waiting until age 50 to try his hand at golf, he achieved a hole-in-one during what he called his “duffer” style of golf.
The family will receive friends at Rader Funeral Home on Saturday, September 5, 2026 from 10-11:30 a.m. A funeral service will follow in the chapel of Rader Funeral Home at 12 p.m. Burial will be in Godwin Cemetery in Fincastle, privately for family.
This one-of-a-kind soul served his Lord, protected his country and family and will be forever missed.
