By Autumn Lauzon 

“He’s still here” was a frequent phrase that came up when talking to Crystal Locklear about her dad, and that was evident in her tears and laughter as she shared stories about the man who was “tough as nails” but whose life reflects compassion, generosity, and an unwavering love for his family. 

Mr. Lewis Locklear, Jr. was a Vietnam War veteran and began his cancer treatments at the VA. He was eventually transferred to the Scotland Cancer Treatment Center, close to home and close to Crystal, his youngest daughter, who was working as the Practice Manager at Scotland Urgent Care. His treatments took place in 2020, which meant strict COVID restrictions, but Crystal said the Cancer Center was wonderful to him, and he loved everybody there. 

After his treatment, he would have his wife drive him by the urgent care to let Crystal know that he was finished and that he’d be waiting for her at home where she went every day after work to help take care of the man who had always taken care of her. 

“We were always taken care of. He gave everything for us. We were his world,” Crystal said. 

Even in the last months of his life, Mr. Locklear, Jr. was making sure his family would be ok without him. He made the difficult decision to stop treatments and assured his children that “everything’s in place that you need. Everything’s fine. I don’t owe anybody anything, so y’all figure it out. I raised you right.” 

During these final months, one moment that took Crystal by surprise was when her dad apologized for not knowing how to show love. She was shocked by the statement and explained to him that “we were never hungry. We always had a home, and we always had more than enough. That was love.” 

Crystal bought him a t-shirt for what ended up being his last Father’s Day. It had a giant Superman ‘S’ with ‘dad’ on it. She would always joke with him that “my superhero doesn’t wear a cape. He wears coveralls.” Every week that he had chemo treatments, he would wear his Superman t-shirt, which was very out of character for the reserved Locklear who also decided he wanted to grow a beard, just to see what it felt like. 

Crystal said she tried to persuade him to stay a few more years so they could give him an 80th birthday party, but he was insistent: “All of us has a ticket. An appointment we’re gonna keep.” Mr. Locklear was very religious and knew exactly where he was going next. Despite his battle with cancer, he remained upbeat, and every single night his prayers included “thank you for my life.” 

Mr. Locklear, Jr. has been “gone” for six years, but Crystal said she still cuts her mama’s grass with his lawnmower and goes to their house to use his tools: “you go to mama’s house and it’s like Daddy’s still here. You look and you see everything that he’s touched, so he’s still with us.” 

The extent of his generosity revealed itself after his passing, too. Crystal and her family had no idea how many people her dad had helped – mostly the vulnerable and those trying to get back on their feet – until these people revealed the kind things he had done. Mr. Locklear, Jr. felt it was his duty to take care of others and did so privately, never seeking recognition or anything in return. 

And this is part of the reason why she wanted to honor him with her gift to The Power of 26 – he was her hero, but he was a hero to others, as well. 

Crystal has been with the Scotland Health Care System for 27 years. She started in outpatient registration and is now the Professional Billing and Credentialing Manager. Although not directly working with patients, her professional role allows her to advocate for patients behind-the-scenes. She might not have a personal relationship with patients, but she fights for them in a different way:



“They don’t know me. I don’t know them, but I’m reviewing their charts, billing their accounts, helping to make sure the insurance pays every dime to that patient that they should, per contract. We don’t know the story. We don’t know these patients, but we become connected to them. We do see that it’s a cancer patient...we are connected because we are fighting that insurance company to get this drug approved that this patient needs...and we fight on the back end, on a patient’s behalf, that they don’t even know about.” 

Her motivation for giving to The Power of 26 was because of her dad and the fact that “everybody can relate to [cancer]...whether it’s immediate family or just friends” and “we all want to preserve life as long as we can. By contributing you get them one step closer to hope that they might not have ordinarily had or another year of memories to create.” 

She said giving to The Power of 26 was a simple decision: “I’ve been here for 27 years. I love my teammates. I love my department. I love my hospital. So, I give, not only because I’m an associate, but because I 100% believe in Scotland.”