Daniel Bert Locklear of McKinney, Texas passed away on February 6, 2024, at the age of 60. He was born in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, moved around some in Florida before graduating from Fort Walton Beach High School in 1981. Danny studied engineering while playing baseball at Enterprise State Junior College. He received the Most Outstanding Student Award and was named to the All-Tournament team for the Alabama Junior College Conference championship.
Danny decided to hang up his cleats, to the chagrin of his dad, and transferred to the University of Florida and graduated in 1985 with a degree in Electrical Engineering. He began his career at General Dynamics (Lockheed Martin) as a Senior RF Systems Engineer and then a Manager of CDMA RF Engineering. During his 10-year duration, Danny completed the Master of Electrical Engineering and the Master of Engineering Management programs at Southern Methodist University.
In 1996, Danny switched careers, his family moved to Birmingham, Alabama and he transitioned into the Telecommunications industry with Nortel. His career focus was Marketing and Business Development, Technical Sales and Product Management with his domain being not only in the US but also globally as well. In 2017, Danny retired from Alcatel-Lucent/ Nokia as a Senior Director of Wireless Business Development.
As important as his career was to him, it did not compare to the importance of his family and his faith. Danny started teaching in the youth ministry at Colleyville Baptist Church in 1990 and continued teaching at some capacity until his diagnosis of dementia in December 2017. He was a deacon at Cottonwood Creek Church for more than 20 years, had chaired these men for a season, and co-chaired the search committee for what was then First Baptist Fairview to what has now become Cottonwood Creek Church. He was committed to missions, the widow ministry, hospital visitation team, new membership workshops, altar team and any other areas of service in need. Through these years, what completed him though was his commitment to his family.
Danny and his wife Susan met in Fort Worth, Texas in 1988 while she was studying at Texas Christian University. They were married in Lakin, Kansas on July 29, 1989, and initially lived in Bedford, Texas. Through the years, they were blessed with 4 children, Lauren, Jenna, Tate and Dane. Danny was the spiritual leader of the home, would emphasize their involvement in church and Christian organizations, and encouraged the kids to try different sports and activities. In Danny’s style though, their commitment meant he too would be committed along side them. He would coach youth sports, encourage development of their craft, and attend their games and performances. He was incredibly proud of them, knew his legacy of faith had passed on to them, and rejoiced when each married a strong believer as well.
Danny is survived by his wife, Susan, of 34 years and his children: daughter Lauren Moore, her husband, Marshall Moore, and their sons Miller and Carter, ( Dallas, Texas) ; daughter Jenna Matthews, her husband David, and their daughter Rosie, (Fayetteville, Arkansas) ; son Tate Locklear, his wife Kenzi, and daughters Lucy and Hattie, (Dallas, Texas) and son Dane Locklear and his wife Summer, (Tucson, Arizona).
Other surviving family members: brother Mike Locklear, wife Patti and their children Jessica Lott, Melissa Malone and Aaron Locklear plus their families; sister Karen McDermott and her children Sean McDermott and Kellie Koptish plus their families.
He was preceded in death by his parents Dallas and Phyllis Locklear and brother-in-law Steve McDermott.
Memorial: Danny was diagnosed with Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA) in December 2017 that eventually would progress into Frontaltemporal Dementia. PPA has not been reported as a common hereditary disease and little is known about this early on-set disease. We chose to donate Danny’s brain to UT Health San Antonio to aid in the study of this disease and, additionally, have set up a donation page with The Association of Frontaltemporal Degeneration (AFTD) for further research and awareness.
https://give.classy.org/DannyLocklear
A memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m., Monday, February 12, 2024, at Cottonwood Creek Church, 1015 Sam Rayburn Tollway, Allen, Texas 75013. The service will also be live streamed and can be viewed by clicking on the following link: https://control.resi.io/webplayer/video.html?id=fbaac14d-ede2-411b-b4e6-9a4228a6d4a0