Louise Lockhart

Louise Rogers Lockhart, 92, was born September 21, 1932, in Vinton, Louisiana, the third of three children born to Reverend Leslie Webb Rogers and Mildred Routh Coit Rogers. Louise was a woman of strong faith. Surrounded by loved ones, she went to meet her Lord and Savior on June 8, 2025–her 68th wedding anniversary.

Louise grew up in the towns where her father pastored, including Orange, Mart, and El Paso, Texas, where Rev. Rogers, a former WWI army officer, established a chaplaincy ministry near Fort Bliss; he then became an army chaplain and moved the family to Lake Charles, Louisiana. At a Campfire Girls Camp at age 12, Louise was voted “Most Adaptable,” a moniker that defined her throughout her life. The family eventually resettled in Waco, then Richland Springs, Texas, where Louise was valedictorian of the class of 1950.

She continued her education at Baylor University, where she earned a B.A. in Religious Education, with minors in English and drama. Louise loved her time at Baylor—she reflected that it was at Baylor where she found herself and considered her drama classes particularly liberating. She was active in student government and was a member of Alpha Omega, a ladies’ club on campus. She was the managing editor of the 1954 annual and was chosen as the “Most Representative Girl” of her year. During her senior year, through the auspices of mutual friend David Crews, she met her future husband, Robert “Bob” West Lockhart. After graduation, she served one year as youth director for Morgan Avenue Baptist Church in Corpus Christi; she later got her teaching certification and taught in the 3rd and 4th grades in a Houston public school.

Louise married Bob Lockhart on June 8, 1957, at South Main Baptist Church in Houston, with her father Rev. Rogers presiding. She continued to teach elementary school while Bob finished his medical studies, and when his internship year relocated them to Birmingham, Alabama, Louise kept teaching, eventually becoming an acclaimed educator. Bob entered the Air Force in 1959, and their family moved to Abilene for two years while he was stationed at the Armed Forces Examining and Entrance Station and Dyess Air Force Base. They made many lifelong friends during this time, primarily through First Baptist Church of Abilene. They were also pleased to grow their family with children Carole Ann and Thomas Rogers. The family moved back to Houston for Bob’s specialty training, where they lived for four more years. Their daughter Miriam Louise arrived, and the family of five subsequently returned to Abilene.

Louise and Bob built a home at 1218 Albany Street, where they would raise their three children and live for 66 years. Louise managed many responsibilities at home, and also became active in multiple programs at First Baptist Church and other ministries. She was a director in FBC’s youth department for several years and later worked with the young married couples’ group, where she made enduring friendships. Louise was one of FBC’s early women deacons for many years and also served on the Personnel and Missions committees. In later years, she enjoyed continuing her friendships with the “young married couples” as a member of the Holy Rollers group.

In addition to her involvement in ministry, Louise also engaged in the larger Abilene community and developed her artistic skills in handcrafts. She tried every craft imaginable, from watercolor to ceramics, before realizing her love of quilting. Throughout her life, Louise made many quilts for friends and family—quilts to celebrate weddings and births of children, quilts to comfort others during illness and partings, and quilts simply to show her affection. She opened the Prairie Star Quilt Shop with friends Nell Carter and Kay Cockerell, and together they had great fun managing the store and teaching quilting for nine years. Louise was also active in her quilting group, the Prairie Star Quilters, her close friendships with other members lasting her lifetime.

For many years, she enjoyed active membership in the 20th Century Study Club, Bible Study Fellowship, and the Society for the Preservation of Quaint Old Homes. Together with Bob, she provided mentorship, friendship, and fellowship to the Lamgadhey family through the International Rescue Committee, and considered them like family. She and Bob traveled widely with friends and family, both for pleasure and for ministry. Later in her life, when Bob moved to Lyndale Memory Care and Louise to Wesley Court Senior Living, she was delighted to make and strengthen many precious friendships among her neighbors. Louise’s loved ones remember her as a force of nature, someone who lived with abundant vitality, keen humor, and steadfast faith through seasons of ease and of trial, traits exemplified by her “most adaptable” outlook.

Louise was predeceased by her parents Leslie and Mildred Rogers, husband Bob Lockhart, children Miriam and Tom Lockhart, and siblings Florence Katherine Frank and James Leslie Rogers. She is survived by her daughter Carole Ann and husband Bernhard Bass of Colorado Springs, CO; daughter-in-law Laura Story of Lubbock, TX; grandchildren Andre Bass, Madeline and Caroline Lockhart, Dieterich, Henry, and Josephine Lawson, and Zephyr and Mesa Melton; many beloved nieces, nephews, and cousins; and her dear friend and caregiver Eliana Zegada.

A public graveside service will be held at the Texas State Veterans Cemetery at Abilene on Friday, June 20 at 10:00 a.m. A public celebration of Louise’s life will be held in the sanctuary of First Baptist Church—Abilene, on Saturday, June 21 at 11:00 a.m. FBC will broadcast the service on their website.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to City Light Community Ministries, 1441 North 4th St., Abilene, TX 79601.