Andrew Lockhart

ONTONAGON, Mich. - Andrew Lockhart, 75, Ontonagon, died Jan. 12, 2018, at the Aspirus Long- Term Care facility in Ontonagon after a prolonged illness.

Born Thomas Andrew Lockhart III on Oct. 15, 1942, at Ontonagon, he was a son of the late Thomas A. and Genevieve M. (Dowd) Lockhart. He was named after his father and his great grandfather, a Union Army veteran of the Civil War. A former Ontonagon Township Clerk, he served in that capacity from November 1982 until November 2000.

The organizer of Ontonagon School reunions held in 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2010, he received an Ambassador Award from the Ontonagon County Chamber of Commerce in 1998 for his efforts on the first three. Each time, he spearheaded the collection of alumni data for the Ontonagon Schools Alumni Directory handed out at all reunions.

A 1960 graduate of Ontonagon High School, he received a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, N.M., in 1965. During the Vietnam Era, he served with United States Army Intelligence Corps from 1965 to 1968.

He was an editor and reporter for the Arizona News Service in Phoenix, Ariz., from 1968 to 1974 and for The Ontonagon Herald from 1974 to 1980.

Lockhart was a member of the Aspirus Ontonagon Hospital Foundation board since its inception in 2008. He was a member of the Ontonagon County Library Board from 1982 to 2016, serving as its chairman and had been a member of the Ontonagon County Elections Scheduling Committee and of the Ontonagon Township Library Board. He also had been a board member of the Evergreen Cemetery Association, having served as its president. He was a life member of the Ontonagon County Historical Society and had served on its board of trustees and as its president, and had been a member of the Ontonagon County Genealogical Society, serving as its secretary.

He was also a member of the National Genealogical Society and other genealogical societies.

He had conducted an avid lifetime study of family history, his own and that of all the people of Ontonagon County. His interest in, and love for, his home town, Ontonagon, could be traced back to his own family's long association with Ontonagon; his mother's paternal grandfather, Job Dowd, came to Ontonagon on June 8, 1849. Also, he was a student of American motion picture history and had an extensive library on the subject.

Lockhart never married and had no children. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his younger brother, John Dowd Lockhart.

Surviving are three nephews, Ben A. (Nicole) Lockhart, Green Oak Township, and Carl W. (Jamie) Lockhart and John D. (Morgan) Lockhart II, Ontonagon, two grand nephews, Jack Thomas Lockhart, of Green Oak Township, and Levi James Lockhart, of Ontonagon, three grand nieces, Kate Magdalen Lockhart and Claire Genevieve Lockhart, of Green Oak Township, and Olivia Jean Lockhart, of Ontonagon, as well as many cousins, other relatives and friends.

A memorial service for Andy will be held 3 p.m. Friday, Jan. 19, at the First United Methodist Church of Ontonagon. Friends may call on Thursday, Jan. 18, from 6 to 8 p.m. and on Friday from 2 p.m. until time of services at the church.

The family is being assisted by the Memorial Chapel Funeral Home, Hancock, and the United Methodist Church, Ontonagon.

Memorials may be made to Ontonagon County Cancer Association or Aspirus Ontonagon Hospital Foundation.

To view Andy's obituary or to send condolences to the family please visit memorialchapel.net.