A man who turned his grief over losing his wife into one of Denton’s finest community groups has died.

Dr. Robert Minturn Lockwood III

Dr. Robert Minturn Lockwood III, 87, a University of Pennsylvania Medical School graduate who opened Family Radiology in 1956, also helped open Ann’s Haven Hospice in 1980. He died May 19.

Lockwood’s first wife, Ann, died in 1977 after a long battle with cancer. Lockwood’s grief study group came up with the idea for the hospice, according to Roberta Donsbach, who served on the founding committee and has served on the Ann’s Haven board of directors ever since.

“It was a wonderful experience,” said Donsbach, who lost her 14-year-old daughter Carolyn about the same time that Ann Lockwood died.

Robert Lockwood — “Doc Lock” — carried much of the load in the organization’s early years as the hospice’s first medical director, said Nancy Griffin, a longtime volunteer.

He was well-versed in hospice philosophy.

“He would never back down from ordering enough medicine to keep a patient pain-free,” Griffin said.

Lockwood is survived by his wife, Sandy; his children, Ben Lockwood, Millie Lockwood and Rachel Cross; and his granddaughter, Anna Morshedi.

A funeral service is planned for 2 p.m. Sunday at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, 1200 N. Elm St.

The family has asked that, in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be made to Ann’s Haven Hospice, 501 S. Carroll Blvd., Suite 201. Call 940-349-5900 for more information.

PEGGY HEINKEL-WOLFE can be reached at 940-566-6881. Her e-mail address is pheinkel-wolfe@dentonrc.com .