OBITUARY

Marty Lockney’s red, plaid Santa pants were something friends looked

forward to during the holidays.

Also popular were the fun parties he and his wife, Amelia, gave every

day of the annual Newport Harbor Christmas Boat Parade.

Lockney, a resident of Lido Isle since the mid-1950s and an active

member of the community, died Wednesday of natural causes. He was 84.

Friends and family members said Lockney and his wife, who died a year

ago, were hospitable, generous and full of life. His son Marty Jr. also

passed away three years ago.

“Both [Lockney and his wife] had a passion for community service,”

said Lockney’s niece, Marleen Meyer. “They just loved life.”

Lockney undertook several service projects as a member of the Santa

Ana North Rotary Club. He was also the commodore of the Lido Yacht Club

and founded the Helmsman, a support group for Goodwill Industries of

Orange County. Lockney started the Newport Chapter of the International

Yachting fellowship of Rotarians and was its international commodore for

two years.

He also contributed his time to Children’s Hospital of Orange County

and received the Charlie Hefter Award in 1995.

Lockney started off as a lot boy in the Guarantee Chevrolet dealership

in Santa Ana and then worked his way up to own it, said friend and fellow

Rotarian Gordon Bricken.

“He was businesslike in his dealings,” he said. “But at Rotary

meetings when he was president, he would pull out a bull horn and sound

it to get people’s attention.”

Bricken recalled how Lockney fired a canon across the bay from Lido

Isle once and made it his last time after a few windows were broken.

“He was as enthusiastic about people as he was about projects,” he

said. “He got everybody involved.”

A date has not yet been scheduled for his memorial service. Meyer said

a private burial at sea will be held Thursday morning. Lockney is

survived by several cousins, nieces and nephews.