In memoriam, Frederick A. Lockwood, T&CTJ’s former publisher

It is with sincere sadness that I report the sudden passing of Frederick (Fred) A. Lockwood, Tea & Coffee Trade Journal’s former long-time publisher, who died on January 17, 2017. Lockwood Publications owned T&CTJ for more than 35 years before selling it to Bell Publishing in May 2016. In addition to being the magazine’s publisher, Fred Lockwood was also vice president of Lockwood Publications. He was 64 years old.

Fred joined Lockwood Publications in the early 1980s at the request of his brother, George Lockwood. Prior to that, he served in the US Coast Guard and Merchant Marines for many years, and he always talked about his time in the service fondly. While with Lockwood Publications, Fred handled accounts in the coffee, tea and tobacco industries (the company also publishes Smoke, Smokeshop, Tobacco International and Tobacco Products International), but he was especially passionate about the coffee and tea sectors. Fred loved visiting his clients in territories that included Italy, Spain, Brazil and Argentina, where he first tasted mate and became an avid drinker—it was his beverage of choice every morning.

Fred hired me as editor-in-chief of T&CTJ in May 2012 and was my first “teacher” in the industry. He was a lifetime student of the industry and always enjoyed learning about coffee and tea, and keeping up with the latest news and technologies. As a novice in the industry, I had much to learn (still do) and constantly peppered Fred with many queries. In my four years working with him, I cannot recall one time that he was unable to answer any question that I posed.

Although slight in stature, Fred had a big personality. He was affable, fun and friendly. He loved history and was extremely well read, particularly in historical literature. In the office, we used to joke that Fred was the “king of the tangent,” as no matter the topic of the meeting, he always had a story that somehow related to the conversation – in his mind – whether it was directly or indirectly (most often indirectly). These stories frequently caused meetings to run much longer than necessary, but they were always entertaining. Fred also enjoyed doing the daily The New York Times crossword puzzles. He would occasionally come into my office under the guise of having an “important discussion” only to ask me a pop culture or entertainment questions for which he had no clue what the answer could be. He truly was quite a character.

I will miss Fred’s cheery disposition, sense of humor, wit, his non-sequiturs, and his knowledge of the coffee and tea industries. On behalf of myself, Scott Rogers, our North American account executive who worked with Fred for more than 15 years, and T&CTJ’s many contributing writers who worked with him over the years, I would like to extend our deep condolences to Fred’s wife, Ginny, his son Tim, his daughter Laura, his brothers and sisters, and his friends.

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