Warren Locke, Jr., Dds

Warren J. Locke Jr., DDS  passed away Jan. 6, 2022, at the age of 83. He was born in Columbus, MS on Oct. 13, 1938, to the late Warren J. Locke, Sr. and Hortense Anderson Locke. Warren will be remembered by his family for his brilliant mind and for always excelling at whatever activity he chose to pursue.

He graduated Magna Cum Laude at Georgia Tech (GT). While at GT, he was a member of Omicron Delta Kappa and won many awards including the Faculty Medal. He was also president of Tau Beta Pi. He accepted a job at Esso Research Labs (ERL) in Baton Rouge in June 1961. He married Virginia “Ginger” Ritter on Oct. 8, 1961. They began their life together as he served in the Army for two years shortly thereafter. When his service in the Army ended, the couple moved back to Baton Rouge where he returned to work for ERL in 1963. During his time at ERL, he filed a patent while working on the iron ore project. After working at ERL for five years, he decided to pursue a career in dentistry and attended the University of Tennessee (UT) College of Dentistry and graduated Magna Cum Laude. At UT he was president of his class and also served as president of the Medical Units for two quarters. Upon graduating, he began practicing dentistry in Baton Rouge. He absolutely loved working as a dentist from 1970 until his retirement in 2016.

He is survived by his beloved wife of sixty years, Ginger Locke; one daughter, Ellen Kaplan and husband Dr. David Kaplan of Mandeville; one son, David Locke and his wife Dominique Traverse Locke of Castlewood, VA; two grandchildren, Ari Kaplan and Holden Locke. Warren leaves one brother, John Locke and wife Oksana of Montreal, Canada.

Funeral services will be held at St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 8833 Goodwood Boulevard, Baton Rouge, LA 70806, on Friday, January 28, 2022. Visitation will be at 10:00 a.m. with a service to follow at 11:00 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Warren's memory may be made to the Humane Society of Louisiana, humanela.org, St.Jude Research Hospital, stjude.org, or St. Luke's Episcopal Church, stlukesbr.org.