Robert F. Lockwood

Bob was a wholesome, stoic, reserved gentleman and a great, dedicated father .

I was saddened to hear about Bobby's passing, but I am smiling inside as I remember times together that date back to elementary and jr. high in Springfield. By coincidence our families ended up living on the same street in Wilbraham where we spent many carefree summer vacation evenings together. I still can picture him on his summer job flipping burgers at the Friendly's on Boston Road. As often happens, life sent us in different directions and we had little contact in recent years, but that does not diminish my remembering a guy that I enjoyed and respected.
My condolences to brother Richard and sisters Linda and Leta. Also to his daughters Brittany and Ashley whom I never met but feel a certain bond as I have coached girls soccer for 25 years.

Bob was a lifelong friend from Deerfield and Princeton, and we roomed together for 3 years at Princeton. He was a powerful intellect and very funny and had the rarest of basketball shots, the one handed set shot from the corner! We had the last of our annual dinners with 2 other roomies from Princeton only about a month ago and Bob was in his usual fine form. We will miss him a lot. Sincere sympathies to his family. A race well run, my old friend.

I had the great fortune to work with Bob at CIGNA in the late 90s and early 2000s and he made a significant impact on my career that continues to shape me today. Bob was an exceptionally bright guy and a great teacher, but what stuck with me most was his vigilance about the promises we make to our customers in the insurance business.

More than that, Bob was one of the more interesting people I've had the chance to work with. He was an all-time great story teller and an even better wit, and while I never met his daughters I imagine that he was quite a dad the way he talked about their soccer and scholastic exploits. My condolences to them and the rest of his family.

My heart was broken when I woke up this morning to the news that my childhood friend for over the past 64 years had passed away. Our history goes back to when we first met at Sumner Avenue Elementary School in Springfield in 1953. We were great tennis partners at the Forest Park tennis courts and enjoyed our camping trips with the Boy Scouts and the record hops at Holy Name Church and ice skating at Porter Lake and the "awful-awfuls" at the Friendly's on Belmont Avenue. I'm so glad we reconnected and shared stories during our visits to each other's homes and our "marathon" phone calls. My deepest sympathies to his daughters Brittany and Ashley, his brother Richard, and his sisters Leta and Linda.

I worked with Bob at CIGNA in the 1980's. Bob was a great person to work with and I was happy to have done so. I'm sure you will miss him.

During this time, the company held a contest to see which team(s) could come up with the best ideas for saving expenses. If your team's idea was validated by an independent panel, you would be awarded points which could be used to purchase gifts from a catalogue. Most ideas were on the order of using less paper, or recycling extra pens, some of which might have been worth as much as $10,000.

I had the good fortune to be on Bob's team. He came up with the idea of crediting interest on customer deposits from the end of the month, when most money came in, rather than the middle of the month. It was worth MILLIONS! I have no idea if the company ever implemented his idea, but the team earned thousands of dollars in prizes as a result of Bob's creativity. He was not afraid of questioning established practice and always applied common sense to his solutions. What more would an employer want?

I will miss my soccer friend. They were good times. He was a good man. Always made me laugh and enjoyed our many conversations on the road. It is always sad when a member of the greatest generation passes. The world will be a better place knowing they are watching over us. My thoughts and prayers are with you .Your friend. Dan

Our sincere sympathies for your loss.

Brittany and Ashley, I'm so sorry for your loss. He was a great father to both of you. I'm praying for your peaceful transition and well-being. Coach Derik

Ashley & Brittany and family, you are all in my thoughts and prayers. I felt comfort when I read the statement on your dad loving to watch you both play soccer, because that's exactly what I thought of when I heard the news. May you both find comfort and strength in the happy memories.

With deepest sympathy during this time of difficulty.