Steven Lockard, 34, passed away at his home on March 2, 2023. Steven was preceded in death by his grandparents; Lou and Lois Repko and Clarence and Lois Lockard.
Steve is survived by his wife Tiffany, son Gavin, parents Bill and Deborah, brother Fred his wife Dawn and family, sister Jessica her husband Charles and family, in-laws Ben and Bobbie, Stephen and Shannon, and family.
Lieutenant Junior Grade Lockard, a native of Amherst, OH, enlisted in the United States Navy in November 2006 as a Nuclear Machinist’s Mate after graduating high school. After completing basic training, he attended Machinist’s Mate “A” School and Nuclear Power School in Charleston, SC, and qualified on the MARF prototype plant in Ballston Spa, NY.
In October 2008, he reported to USS California (SSN 781) and served as a member of the Machinery Division. During this tour, he completed his Enlisted Submarine Warfare qualifications. Next, he served at Norfolk Naval Shipyard – Nuclear Regional Maintenance Department as a Nuclear Repair Coordinator. While on shore duty, he deployed to USS Emory S. Land (AS-39) to support the Pacific forward-deployed Nuclear Expeditionary Manning team and qualified as an Enlisted Surface Warfare specialist. His next assignment was to USS Delaware (SSN 791), where he served as the Machinery Division Leading Petty Officer.
He was selected for the LDO Commissioning Program and commissioned to the rank of Ensign on April 1, 2019. He reported to USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), where he served as the Electrical Officer, Quality Assurance Officer, Topside Work Control Officer, Main Propulsion Technical Assistant, Diving Officer, 1 Plant Station Officer, Electrical Technical Assistant, and Electrical Division Officer during the ship’s Refueling Complex Overhaul. He was most recently assigned to Norfolk Naval Shipyard – Submarine Fleet Maintenance as a Project Officer and Shop 99 (Temporary Services) Division Officer.
His personal decorations include the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (1 award), the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (6 awards), and the Navy Good Conduct Medal (4 awards).
The Navy brought him to Virginia as his career duty station. He met Tiffany while stationed on the USS California. They explored the East Coast over the early years of their marriage before making it back to Virginia for the birth of his pride and joy, Gavin. Raising their son, Steve and Tiffany turned many 757 locals and military friends into family and enjoyed many laughs and much love with these people. From fire pit nights, to sporting events, to parties including karaoke in the garage, Steve, Tiffany, and Gavin have been surrounded by love in their time as a family.
Steve enjoyed life with many adventures. Anything involving dirt, deer, mountains and his precious son completed his world. On the rare occasions when the Navy took a back seat, he focused on enjoying time with his family whether it was lounging around the fire, watching movies at excessive volumes, or breathing in the fresh air of nature. Over the last couple of years, Steve enjoyed coaching Gavin and his friends on the soccer field even after admitting his knowledge of the game was minimal. He persevered and learned a new talent, kid control. Coaching a dozen young boys is a gift, and Steve was the recipient of such a gift.
Steve and Gavin were always a team, having special moments together and creating lasting memories. If he wasn’t on the soccer field, he was involved in everything outdoors with no exception. Whether it was fishing, hunting, outdoor sports, indoor gaming, and his latest passion with best friend Bryan, brewing the finest beverages one could imagine, Steve was always “all in” when it came to succeeding in whatever he was doing. Steve was the proverbial “fix-it guy,” always looking for that one item out of place, broken, or needing to be replaced. His fix-it attitude greatly influenced purchasing and renovation of a long-ago family-owned cabin. With his brother Fred, they made this a place for family and friends to enjoy the outdoor adventures he did as a child. This cabin will continue to represent Steven for years to come and provide a place of much-needed respite for future generations.
Steven’s family would like to extend their deepest gratitude to all of his shipmates and friends for their compassion and support.
Steven will always be surrounded and held close by a family that loves him more than words. He will now be at rest at the family cabin on a West Virginia mountainside enjoying the rising sun and fresh mountain air and watching over Gavin as he grows to be the amazing young man he always dreamed of.
Steve it was a joy to work with you and share even a brief time together. I will miss our friendship and our conversations but mostly we will all miss you. Rest well and watch over us all.
Steve was a great man and I will miss him a lot. We didnt get to go up to the cabin together but we had so many fun experiences in the 13 years I knew him. May god rest your soul.
Will Crispens
Prayers and hugs are sent your way. May God grant you all with the gift of Peace during this difficult time..from Cousin Gwen.
I love you Brother. Fly high and be free. Until next time
So sorry to hear of this. Only been in my life past two years.
Introduced to him at Bryan’s House, what a wonderful young man!!!
My heart goes out to family and friends.
Such a great coach- I couldn’t even tell his knowledge was ‘minimal’. My son will miss being coached by you. Tiffany, Gavin, and all of Steve’s family- thank you for letting us borrow time with him. The little bit we got, we are grateful for. Sending so much love to you all.
My heart is broken at the loss of this lovely young man. My prayers go out to Gavin, Tiffany and his family as well as all whose lives he touched. May the peace of our Lord comfort all.
It’s hard to believe I am writing this. We spoke a few weeks ago and I wish we had the time to see through our plans to meet up this summer. I will miss your friendship. I am thankful of our time together, your help with projects I had around the house, letting me borrow tools, I think I returned them all…. I am reminded of the time you stayed over new years, way past midnight, to the disliking of both our wives and we watched inglorious bastards for some reason. Then going down to Tony’s house and then lighting and throwing a ton of fireworks on his front door and almost starting a neighborhood feud. You had a knack for sending me the best jokes or memes, timed, unknowingly to you, when I needed a laugh. I was inspired by Tiffany and your ability to raise a great kid, especially at the time when I was scared to death to have my own. I am proud you busted your ass and got your Commission, I told you the Navy needed officers like you. Rest easy brother, work on that beer recipe so it’s good to go when I get there, we got this down here!
The staff of Quality Time Childcare & Preschool would like to extend our deepest condolences to Tiffany, Gavin and the entire Lockard family.