January 9, 1950 ~ January 1, 2026

Sara Jane Locke, 75, of Dayton, Tennessee passed away on Thursday, January 1,2026, at Hospice of Chattanooga. 
Mrs. Locke was born January 9,1950. She was a member of the Ford and Locke families, pioneer residents of Rhea County. Mrs. Locke was a devoted mother and grandmother and will be missed by many lifelong friends.  She received her education at Rhea Central High School and the University of Tennessee Knoxville.  Mrs. Locke worked for many years under Jones Media Group and then Adams Publishing as publisher of The Herald-News.  
Mrs. Locke was preceded in death by her parents James H Ford Sr., Lillian Keith Ford and sister-in-law Peggy Burnette Ford.
Survivors include her son, Charles Keith Locke (Jennifer), two grandchildren Sydney Ella Locke and McKinley Paige Locke of Chattanooga, TN. Brother James H Ford Jr. of Athens Tn, niece Stephanie Ford Linkous (Darrell), Drew Linkous (Macy) and Dillon Linkous of Cleveland TN.  Nephew James H Ford III (Candice), Ben Ford (Crissa), Kylie Harris of Athens, TN., and Kayla Stinnett (Aaron) of Cleveland TN. 
Visitation will be held Monday January 5th at Noon in the Coulter-Garrison Funeral Home with a celebration of life at 2pm with Pastor Bob Schafer officiating.  Burial followed at Buttram Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Dayton Rotary Club in memory of Sara Jane Locke P.O. Box 481 Dayton, Tn 37321.