Mattie Lockridge

Mattie Bell Lockridge was born on January 26, 1930 to the late Calvin and Minnie Morrow in Sommerville, Tennessee. She was the eldest of four children; one brother and two sisters, all have preceded her in death. God blessed her family to extend well beyond her immediate family members: it included other relatives that were very significant in her life and much loved. 

With her husband and three young children to care for she migrated to Cleveland, Ohio in 1951, seeking greater opportunities for the advancement of her family. God blessed her and added four more children to her life, their welfare was always of great concern to her and seeing them thrive and experience opportunities that she prayed for brought her great joy. Two of her children have preceded her in death (Jimmy Waddell, Minnie Gail Lockridge). 

The church and family were her greatest joy and where she invested much of her time, energy and resources. 

Mattie was taught the Scriptures as a child, after arriving to Cleveland she united with Mt Hermon Baptist Church under the leadership of Rev. Robert L. Fuller and was a faithful member for 70 years. She loved the Church and was very much involved in the lives of congregants, sang with the "The Messiah Chorus" and faithfully served on the Senior Usher Board until health issues no longer permitted her to attend weekly services. 

God blessed Mattie with many natural talents that were used to serve others in her community and bring enjoyment to family and friends. She was the family's and neighborhood beautician for many years. One of her granddaughters humorously remarked that "she could make curls so tight that they could stand the test of time, you couldn't even wash them out." She was a self-taught seamstress, making garments without a commercial pattern. She was a great cook: her meals were made from scratch and most of the time she invented her own recipes, or at the very least added some mystery ingredient for taste; her homemade bread and cakes were unrivaled. 

Gardening was her passion; in her early days she loved manicuring her front yard and adorned it with beautiful flowers, a red rose bush was the center attraction. At the end of each season that rose bush would be pruned so far back that it appeared that it would never bloom again, but always to our surprise it flourished and the next season it yielded the largest and most beautiful lush red roses. 

In addition to using her talents to serve others, she worked full-time for the Society of St. Vincent DePaul and retired on 7/10/1995 after 25 years of service. 

Her favorite passage of Scripture is Psalm 139 and during the final days of her earthly sojourn she found comfort in the verse "Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me." She said that The Lord had been merciful and good to her all her life and what she was experiencing health-wise was His Will and she was willing to go through and do whatever He wanted her to do. During some of the most difficult hours she sang hymns and found comfort in the songs of Zion. Among her last words she said "Trust and listen to God, not man. God is so GOOD!" 

She was called to eternal rest on Thursday, October 24, 2024, with family members by her side. The Lord made His presence known and gave great assurance that she has joined the Church Triumphant. 

She leaves to mourn her passing a son James Lockridge, four daughters: Areatha J. Lockridge, Alyene Powell (Lawrence), Valorie Lockridge-Harvey and Carolyn Lockridge; sixteen grandchildren: Jarret, Apryl, Amer, Shawnda, Sowan, James Jr, Yolanda (Al), Cherese, Akili (Tyler), Aleatha, Aleena (Jerrell), Lydia (Aaron), Lois (AC), Robert, Tianna, Monae; nineteen great-grandchildren: Nathan, Nevan, Jakarra, Sarai, Rielle, Kiya, Brook Tyler Jr, Trent, Aiden, Reese, Yara, Addie, Noell, Eden, Amara, Martez, Marcus, Deyon; four great-great grandchildren: Kennedy, Karter, Kingston, Bella; and a host of cousins, nieces, nephews and other family members and friends whom she loved very much.

A public viewing will be held on November 3, 2024, from 3:00PM to 5:00PM at the House Of Peace Funeral Home, 4105 East 71st Street, Cleveland, OH. A Celebration Of Life will be held, on November 4, 2024. 10:00AM Wake and 10:30AM Service at Mt Hermon Baptist Church, 2516 E 40th St, Cleveland, OH.

We welcome you to provide your thoughts and memories on Mattie's tribute wall.