Geraldine Lockwood Oakley

Albany---Oakley, Geraldine Lockwood. Passed away peacefully at Avila Retirement Community on January 24, 2022.
She was born on November 11, 1932 in Rochester, NY to Wallace and Marjorie Lockwood. In 1950 her father told her girls do not go to college, but her mother insisted they most certainly do. Gerry graduated from Cornell University School of Home Economics in 1954. After graduation she married John S. Oakley and they were married for 57 years. It was a busy household with 4 children born within 5 years. She was proud to have raised two lawyers and two PhDs. The family moved to Guilderland in 1966. With 2 friends she founded and helped lead the Guilderland Glassworks 4-H Club. Her house was a beehive of activity where kids learned to sew, cook, take and develop photographs, and make public presentations. Later she helped lead efforts to convince legislators and NYSDEC to fund 5 Rivers Educational Center in Bethlehem. Gerry was the first paid administrator of 5 Rivers Limited, where she helped lead the program where many schools bussed students to 5 Rivers to wade in streams, net insects and fish, and obtain close-up views of nature. She became fascinated by genealogy and spent years tracing the family back for generations. She volunteered at the State Museum to help others trace their families. She was a member of Hamilton Union Presbyterian Church for 56 years, including service as a Deacon. Gerry was an expert seamstress and wrote a book describing how to tailor a jacket. She belonged to the League of Women Voters for 50 years, beginning with 1970s efforts to have state legislators work full time, and increase funding for public schools. Gerry and John later moved to Albany and, after his death in 2011, she moved to Avila, which she greatly enjoyed. Doctors and nurses were amazed by her extensive history of medical problems, including that she lived for 17 years after pancreatic cancer.

Gerry is survived by her son David of Slingerlands and his wife Dianna Masto, and by daughters Laura Beebe, formerly of Albany and now of Gaithersburg, MD, Claire Oakley of Billings, MT and her husband Bruce Wendt, and Rachel Oakley Hsiung of Huntingdon, PA and her husband David. She is survived by 8 grandchildren, and she was very proud of all of them. She is also survived by her brother Larry Lockwood and his wife Donna of Wilmington, NC, as well as 5 great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her husband and parents, and by her son-in-law Richard Beebe.

Memorial services will be on-line only on Saturday, February 5 at 12noon eastern time. For details contact Hamilton Union Presbyterian Church (518-456-5410) or a family member.

In lieu of flowers, we suggest a donation to Friends of 5 Rivers, 56 Game Farm Rd., Delmar, NY, 12054. Online condolences may be expressed at www.NewComerAlbany.com