Major Howard Estes Locke, Jr. Army (Ret.)

Major Howard Estes Locke, Jr. Army (Ret.), age 71, was born December 3, 1947 in McMinnville, TN and died June 26, 2019 at LifePath Hospice in Temple Terrace, FL following an extended illness. He was the son of the late Howard Estes and Jo Ruth Mullican Locke. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by step-daughter, Margaret Ballance. He was married to Gayle Reid Locke of Tampa, FL. In addition to his wife, he is survived by step-son, Collin Ballance and wife Camille of Nashville, TN; brother and sister-in-law, Bill and Brenda Locke of McMinnville, TN; niece, Amanda Locke of Nashville, TN; nephew, Thomas Locke of Knoxville, TN; step-mother, Louise Locke of McMinnville, TN; and two brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, Bill and Maureen Reid of Indiana and Randy and Karen Reid of Oak Ridge, TN. Howard graduated high school from Columbia Military Academy. He was a 1971 graduate of the University of Tennessee Knoxville, with a degree in Business Administration. He was also commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army in 1971 through the ROTC program at UT Knoxville. He proudly served his country in the Army for over 22 years. He was in Special Forces and Military Intelligence while in the Army. He retired as a Major, and after his retirement from the Army, he joined the Defense Intelligence Agency, where he continued his service for our country for 16 more years. During his time in the military and the Defense Intelligence Agency, he was stationed in or visited over 75 countries; among them Korea, Japan, Afghanistan and IRAQ. Howard retired from the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2009 and continued to enjoy travelling, playing golf, and cheering for the University of Tennessee Vols. Funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m. Friday, July 5, 2019 in High’s Chapel with Bob Case officiating. Burial will follow in Mt. View Cemetery in Warren County, TN with full military honors administered by the U.S. Army Honor Guard. Visitation will be from 12:00 p.m. until the time of service Friday at High’s. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Cancer Society. Online condolences may be made at www.highfuneralhome.com. High Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.