Mary D. (Whitsitt) Lockett

Mary Dian Whitsitt was born on May 15, 1952, in Cleveland Ohio to Lucille Vaughn and Clarence Whitsitt (who both preceded her in death). She was the youngest of their seven children- James (dec), Roy (dec), Joseph (dec), Willie, Thea (dec), and Lorenzo (dec). Mary was baptized at an early age. She attended John Burroughs Elementary School, Central Jr High School, and East Technical High School and was always a good student. She was especially proud of her high school alma mater and would often boast that she “went to Tech” whenever there was anything to assemble or in times of problem solving. After high school Mary joined the US Army after hearing her brother Larry (Lorenzo), a fellow veteran, detailing all the opportunities and benefits serving offered. She attended an all women’s boot camp in Alabama at Ft. McClellan and was very proud of her experience. She often told stories of the different drills and trainings they underwent. One of her favorite anecdotes was the story of how during a chemical attack drill she was distracted by a very large spider on the ground causing her to fail the drill and come out from under her safety cape. Despite the humorous mishap she was always “Army Strong” and lived the motto in her every day life from then on. After boot camp, she spent time in Georgia at Ft. McPherson, (now famous for being the site of Tyler Perry’s studios), where she had a special clearance position typing up awards and medals for high ranking officials. It was during her time in the service that Mary developed her love for traveling and bowling. She initially only attended trips and tournaments for a way to get off base but became very good at it and would go on to receive numerous jacket patches, medals, and trophies throughout the years. Later Mary even shared her love of the lanes with both her children and grandson by bowling in child-adult leagues with them.



Mary left the Army after 3 yrs and easily found work at the Federal Building in the Navy Finance Center (DFAS). It was there she met her best friend Cheryl. The two remained close until the end. In search of better opportunities she then began working for the US Postal Service where she held many different positions over the course of her 34 year career until eventually retiring in 2005.



Mary was married on May 1, 1984 to the love of her life John L Lockett (deceased April 2012). They had 2 daughters, Candace and Cassaundra. Mary was an attentive and playful mother and she and John spent lots of time together traveling and attending shows and concerts. In August of 2000 they became grandparents for the first time (Jamir) and a second grandchild Laila was born in 2013. Both kids stole her heart and became her main focus. Even more than when her own children were younger, Mary doted on her grandkids and the 3 were inseparable. They lovingly referred to her as “Gee”.



In addition to her love of the sport of bowling Mary was a diehard fan of all Cleveland sports and watched every Indians, Browns and Cavs and Rockers game she could. She even found a way to immerse herself in the experience even more by obtaining part time work at Gund Arena (Rocket Mortgage Field house) and Jacobs Field (Progressive Field). She was able to watch the games for free and even met some of her favorite athletes and celebrities.



As she got older Mary really took to her position as “Gee” and spent more time at home with her family. She loved her cats, going on walks, tending to her flowers and yard and spending time with her grandkids. She recently began to fill ill and it was discovered she had a rare type of cancer. Even in the face of such heartbreaking news she remained “Army Strong” as she loved to say, and accepted the diagnosis with courage and dignity. Sadly Mary’s battle with cancer would not be a long one at all. She passed away peacefully on July 29,2020 only weeks after being diagnosed.



Mary leaves behind to cherish her memory, 2 daughters and 2 grandchildren, sisters and brothers in-law, nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews and even some great great nieces and nephews. Additionally Mary had many wonderful friends and neighbors that she loved like family. If you ever had the pleasure to meet her you were immediately taken by her sincere heart and witty sense of humor. Her presence will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her.



-What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.

Hellen Keller