Board Spotlight

A LIFE DEDICATED TO DISABILITY SERVICES AND FAMILY

By Robert (Bob) Lockwood, Hammer Residences and Northeast Residence Board of Directors

Ihave been involved with the disability community ever since my girls, Stacy and Dru, were born sixteen months apart in the late 1950s. Both girls were born with seizures that took a long period of time to be controlled, cerebral palsy, and developmental delay diagnosis followed. In those days, it was common to be pressured to give children with disabilities up, to be told that the best thing would be to turn them over to the state for care, and that they wouldn’t live very long. But my wife, Audrey, and I knew better, and we were always on the “keep them at home” side of any discussions around what was best. We had the support of our family who lived nearby, but at that time there were not many services available.

I became very involved in what is now known as ARC, chairing the Governmental Affairs Committee and lobbying for changes in state law to fund programs. We started to work on closing institutions and opening communitybased supports. Being the engineer that I was professionally, I built our own adaptive equipment, like a standing table, so Stacy could play with toys. Eventually, ARC was given Camp Friendship and they started a Family Camp. It was there, with the help of a counselor, that both girls learned to walk.

We were members of Mount Olivet Lutheran Church that had a Sunday school for children with special needs. I spoke with Dr. Youngdahl about my concerns for residential care and this led to the creation of Mount Olivet Rolling Acres in the 1960s. I knew the girls were going to need residential supports at some point and that could be a step forward for them.

We lived together as a family for 26 years, including two years in Portugal. In 1980, we started talking about “placement” for them. At the time, we were living in St. Anthony Village in a five-bedroom, fivelevel, split level home. While it took a while, we were able to get a waiver in 1985 so we moved out, and the girls stayed in the home with five other women. As they got older they needed a home that was more accessible and better met their needs, so they moved into Northeast Residence 33. I am so happy that Stacy and Dru were able to build lives of their own as adults, independent from mom and dad. Audrey and I dedicated our lives to our girls and the disability community. Audrey was an educator, an active volunteer, and worked as a special ed aide. She died in 2001 after living with cancer for five-and-a-half years. Stacy went on to live a very active and full life of 62 years. Today, I am living with my sister, Sally, also a widow. As a young 88-year-old, I keep very, very busy and spend as much time as I can with Dru, who is now 61 years old. I look forward to serving on the Board of Directors of both NER and Hammer and using my executive management background, along with my life experience, to help both organizations navigate today’s cultural and economic climate.

“I am so happy that Stacy and Dru were able to build lives of their own as adults, independent from mom and dad.” — Bob Lockwood, NER and Hammer Board Member

Family photo from left: Audrey, Dru, Stacy, and Bob in 1990