With great sadness, The American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) shared the passing of founding member and first president, John William Locke, at the age of 91. Locke passed away on September 11, 2024, after a brief illness.
John Locke served as A2LA’s first president for 10 years from 1986-1996 and made monumental contributions to the global accreditation industry throughout his long, successful career.
“Without John, A2LA wouldn’t be here today,” said A2LA’s current President and CEO Lonnie Spires. “Once I began traveling internationally and working with APLAC and ILAC, I saw his fingerprints everywhere on the international accreditation landscape,” said A2LA Vice President of Accreditation Services Trace McInturff. “John’s vision went beyond just establishing a domestic accreditation body that could service all industries in the United States. It included the goal of ‘one accreditation accepted everywhere’—which has been achieved with ILAC today.”
Since 2006, A2LA has presented an annual award in John’s namesake, the John Locke Award—and is the highest honor presented by the association. The award honors a distinguished recipient for their years of hard work and dedication in accreditation. To achieve this honor, the recipient must achieve six out of seven of the following criteria:
• A commitment of their time and services to A2LA towards the advancement of accreditation
• Commitment to and furtherance of the A2LA mission and vision
• Extensive expertise in their industry, academia, and/or service sector
• Innovative ideas adopted by their industry, academia, and/or service sector
• Leadership in their industry, academia, and/or service sector, which has made a significant impact on accreditation
• A high degree of respect from their peers
• An impeccable reputation for statesmanship, diplomacy, and fairness
John was born in LaSalle, Illinois on January 27, 1933, and grew up on a farm tending to animals. He attended high school and junior college at St. Bede Academy and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science Degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Illinois. In 1955, John married his wife Margaret Kincius, and together, they had six children.
During his career, John worked on Cold War era airplanes and missiles, and later on, worked for various government agencies. He then transitioned to developing standards for the accreditation of laboratories. After John retired from a successful career in the accreditation industry, he studied at seminary and was ordained a Deacon in the Catholic Church.
John’s legacy will forever be remembered by A2LA’s leadership, staff, assessors, and even many longtime customers. A2LA’s headquarters, located in Frederick, MD, includes a conference room named in John’s honor, the Locke Conference Room.
John’s memory will be honored with a Mass of Christian Burial in the Guild Chapel at Asbury Methodist Village, 211 Russell Avenue, Gaithersburg, MD on Monday, October 7, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. A reception at Asbury will follow the service.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in John’s name to SOME (So Others May Eat), the Asbury Foundation, Maryknoll Lay Missioners, or a charity of your choice.
For more information, visit https://A2LA.org/.
