Locke, John K.

Fr. John K. Locke, SJ, a Jesuit from the Chicago Province, scholar, and pillar of the Jesuits of Nepal died on March 18, 2009, at B & B Hospital in Kathmandu at the age of 76. He is survived by his dear sister Mary Jean Miller of Waukee, Iowa, and cousin Sally Latta of West Des Moines, Iowa. Fr. Locke is recently preceded in death by friend and fellow Nepal Jesuit Fr. Ludwig F. Stiller, SJ. “John was an outstanding Jesuit, a scholar, a wonderful human being, and a friend,” recalls Fr. Leo P. Cachat, SJ.

Fr. Locke, son of Myrtle Edge and John K. Locke Sr., was born in Chicago in 1933, where he lived until the death of his mother. In 1940 he and his sister Mary Jane moved to live with their Aunt and Uncle Catherine and Frank Donovan in West Des Moines, Iowa. He attended Dowling Catholic High School until 1950. Fr. Locke then went on to briefly study at Loyola University in Chicago before joining the Society of Jesus at Milford in 1951. He petitioned to be sent to the missions in Nepal, and was approved to go on August 13, 1957. He set out with Frs. Casper J. Miller, SJ, and Charles Law, SJ.

“In those early days, the schools were our main work,” remembers Fr. Gerald A. Drinane, SJ. “And John had his regency at St. Xavier’s Godavari School.” Fr. Locke went on to earn a PhD on Buddhism in Newari culture from Tribhuvan University. He later returned to St. Xavier’s Godavari School, first as a teacher, then principal and superior from 1966 to 1969.

In1972 Fr. Locke moved to the HRD Research Center Community in Kathmandu, where he would spend most of the rest of his life. “How many times I enjoyed dinner with him, Lud and Cap at the Research Center,” says Fr. Bill Galvin, MM. “He was so well informed about Nepal and always so kind and helpful.”
Throughout his life Fr. Locke was first and foremost a scholar, authoring several important works on the history of Buddhism in Nepal. “Anyone who visited Kathmandu soon realized that John was in love with his subject,” says Fr. Drinane. “He would generously take visitors to the main sites of Buddhism and places of historical interest.” Fr. Locke also served as a permanent member of the Fulbright Commission.

“He was a fascinating conversationalist,” recalls Dr. Mary Pat Haley, BVM. “As quiet as he seemed, he was just fun to be with.