Jere Samuel Locke

Jere Locke was born on August 20, 1944, to Katherine and John Locke at Ft. Still, Oklahoma, and died peacefully at home in Austin, Texas, on May 22, 2025, surrounded by his loving family. Jere's life was one of purpose and meaning devoted to working for peace and justice. A graduate of St. Thomas High School in Houston, Jere continued his education at the University of Notre Dame, graduating in 1966 from the University of Texas at Austin. Jere subsequently earned a master's degree in family counseling from Antioch University in Seattle, Washington. In 1967 Jere joined the Peace Corps and was posted to Kenya where he was known for speaking great Swahili, loving to talk and eat, and enjoying track workouts with the excellent Nandi runners. This experience was foundational for his life of service. Throughout his life, he worked on many peace and justice issues. Jere served as Director of the Austin Peace and Justice Coalition in the 1980s. He also co-led the Austin-based Central American Peace Initiative's efforts to cut off U.S. military aid to El Salvador and the Nicaraguan Contras to promote peace. With others he convinced the City of Austin to end its investments in apartheid South Africa. After the first Gulf War in the 1990s, Jere worked to lift sanctions that were crippling Iraq and making it hard for children who had suffered radiation poisoning from bombings to get healthcare. While co-sponsoring a forum on childcare in Austin, Jere met his lifelong partner, Gale. In 2002 Jere founded the Texas Fair Trade Coalition which organized advocacy campaigns to inform elected officials, churches, and organizations about the social injustices American workers face from free trade agreements. Campaigns he organized for the African Jubilee community informed many Texans of the harsh impact structural adjustments had on African health and educational systems as countries attempted to repay their debts. In 2007 Jere founded and directed Texas Harambe (Swahili for "Let's all pull together"). In addition to funding a school in Vietnam for children with special needs due to Agent Orange, Texas Harambe helped tortured Burmese Democracy Workers obtain trauma counseling. Harambe also assisted Thai environmentalists to protect the Mekong River. After attending the 2007 UN Climate Conference in Bali, Indonesia, Jere dedicated the remaining years of his life to raising awareness about humanity's urgent need to respond to the climate crisis. Under Jere's leadership, Texas Harambe ran a Climate Emergency Campaign advocating large scale climate legislation. Desiring to secure a future for his children and grandchildren, in 2009 Jere joined Alyssa Burgin in founding the Texas Drought Project. In the second decade of the 2000s, Jere, Alyssa, and Joshua Wallis conducted Drought Project campaigns seeking to give Texans an understanding of the impact of changing weather and climate patterns. Jere will be greatly missed by his lifelong partner, Gale; his sons, Tristan and Sundaram (Suny); daughter-in-law, Jessica; granddaughters, Isadora (Izzy) and Emilia (Emmie); siblings Stephen, Martha, Mary, and Sarah; sister-in-law, Carolyn; and stepsiblings, Margaret and Max. Many thanks to all the wonderful caregivers from Heavenly Care who brought so much support and joy to us during the past year. Many thanks, too, to Dakota and MaryAnn from Suncrest Hospice who offered Jere and his family compassion, love, and guidance during the last days of Jere's life.

Jere Samuel Locke

August 20, 1944 - May 22, 2025