Kristina Marie Lockaby was born on November 25, 1972, at St. Anthony’s Hospital in Denver, Colo., and died unexpectedly of cancer January 12, 2021, at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center, Burbank, Calif.
Kris is survived by her partner, Andrew Gavenda, of Burbank, Calif, her parents, Jed and Twila Lockaby, of Newton, Kan., Andrew’s parents, Ronald and Shirley Gavenda, of Tawas City, Mich., and her little cat, Opal. Also surviving are aunts, uncles, cousins and many friends from all chapters of her life in all parts of the country.
She started traveling the world at two when her parents moved to Belgium for two years. They then moved to Newton where Kris grew up, started lifetime friendships and graduated from Newton High School in 1991.
Kris attended the University of Kansas and graduated with a Fine Arts Degree in 1996. She planned to use her degree to travel and work in as many places as she could get to.
She started with an internship at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., then worked at the Portland Art Museum in Portland, Ore., the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Mo., the Frist Art Museum in Nashville, Tenn., the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, in Los Angeles, Calif. She was in the process of getting her Master’s in Museum Education from the Bank Street College of Education, New York, N.Y.
Where ever she was living she enjoyed having her parents and friends visit her but also loved traveling to see them. She was always taking opportunities to explore new places and meet new people throughout the country and across the world.
Kris embraced the people around her as well as the possibility of new adventures ahead of her. She will be remembered for her welcoming hugs and her laughter. For her delight in the tiny, the quirky, and the unique. For her appreciation of color, of artistry and of the diversity in the world around her. She sought to celebrate joy for other people, she couldn’t wait to meet her friend’s babies or toast another’s accomplishment. She was fierce in her beliefs and fearless in her adventures. She believed in returning the love she felt from the people around her. And as her parents, her life partner and her friends, we will all carry that love with us.
She was preceded in death by grandparents, Frank and Lena Berry and Hollis and Edna Lockaby, many aunts, uncles, cousins, and her wonderful dog, Hank.
Cremation has already taken place and a celebration of life will be at a later, safer date.
Her family asks that memorials be made to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 4525 Oak Street, Kansas City MO 64111-1873 or the Caring Hands Humane Society 1400 SE 3rd St., Newton, KS 67114.