Veronica Lea Lockwood (ne Carden), aged 83, of Zephyrhills, Florida, passed away surrounded by her husband and children, sharing tales of love and laughter, on April 5th, 2024. Veronica was born in Quantico, Virginia, to parents Lillian and Ralph Carden. She attended William and Mary College and It was there she met Larry, a swaggering enlisted Navy man stationed at the Cargo Handling Battalion at Cheatham Annex. They quickly became inseparable, married, and embarked on a lifetime of adventures together. After Larrys retirement from the Navy in 1979, the Lockwood family moved from Mare Island to a small farm in Stafford County, Virginia. At the same time, Veronica started her career at Potomac Hospital in Potomac, Virginia, where she worked her way up to become the Director of the Department of Medical Transcription for the hospital. Together with her husband, she later found a successful car rental business in Fredericksburg and Dahlgren, Virginia. When the business closed, she joined a military contracting firm, where she was a self-taught programmer who made significant contributions to a Cold War-era project developing software to hunt and destroy Soviet submarines. After repeated requests to be flown to an aircraft carrier (i.e. carrier landing) to oversee testing of her software, she declined stating "those sailors dont need some grey-haired old lady running around on their ship, theyll be fine." Veronica and Larrys post-career years were filled with travel across North America, including Canada and Alaska, in their RV, culminating in retirement in Zephyrhills. A passionate animal lover, Veronica bred quarter horses, Italian greyhounds, and basset hounds. Veronica loved reading, and she set herself the challenge of reading every Pulitzer Prize-winning book, despite finding some to be "tedious and poorly written." Veronica is predeceased by her parents, Lillian and Ralph Carden, sister Sherrill Quigley, brothers in law, Michael Quigley, J.D, Harold Phythian, RPh, and beloved grandson, Ryan McCoy. Veronica is survived by her husband of 63 years Larry Lockwood, her sister Yvonne Phythian, RPh, children Stephanie Kellum, Susan McCoy, and Larry "Wally" Lockwood Jr., J.D.; her sons in law, Steve McCoy, Robert "Sam" Kellum, and her daughter in law, Vicki Lockwood, and her cherished grandchildren, Vanessa and Aaron (Kellum), Shawn McCoy, her namesake Veronica "Abby" and grandson Carden (Lockwood), and great-grandchildren, McKensie and Liam Kellum, and Cora and William Scott (Kellum). Her legacy of tenacity, wit, and boundless curiosity will endure in the memories of those who knew her. *Cremation has taken place. A joint interment with her husband upon his eventual passing will follow at Florida National Cemetery in Zephyrhills. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to local SPCA branches or other animal welfare organizations.* The Lockwood family warmly invites you to share your stories and memories of Veronica to celebrate her remarkable life. Memorial Donation There are no gallery images.