Peter, co-founder and director of The Puppet Company, passed away peacefully on 1 July following a six-month battle with an extremely aggressive brain tumour.
PreschoolNews.net is sad to announce that Peter Lockey, co-founder and director of The Puppet Company, passed away on 1 July following a six-month battle with an extremely aggressive brain tumour.
The Puppet Company was founded in 2001 by husband and wife team Sue and Peter, with the aim of offering the largest range of puppets available anywhere. With over 30 years of teaching experience between them, their enthusiasm for puppetry was driven by the understanding of the simple joy that a puppet can bring. Founded on their lifelong belief that there is something magical about owning and using a puppet, their puppets capture the essence of what makes a fine toy because they allow the user to be creative, to entertain and, more than anything else, to have fun.
Peter stood by the company motto ‘Have a Puppet, Have Fun’, and the millions of their puppets which have been sold worldwide over the last 20 years are testament to the original vision of Peter and Sue.
The news was announced by Peter’s family, with the statement continuing:
‘As a family and as a business, being seamlessly intertwined, we would like to thank all our staff, agents, distributors and manufacturers for their support and hard work in keeping the company running during what has been an incredibly difficult time. We would also like to thank everyone who has had any involvement with us, including our customers, for their incredible support; we have been overwhelmed by the kindness that has been shown and the many messages of love we have received. The frequent enquiries for news has shown how many lives Peter has touched, literally all around the world.
Peter often said that he and Sue had always wanted to establish a business that they would be happy and proud to work in as employees. We think we can safely say that this was achieved in spades, yet another wonderful legacy for him. Being such a close-knit business and part of Peter’s Puppet Family, all of us at The Puppet Company will miss him dearly.
We have been moved by people’s words and would like to share just some of these which help to illustrate Peter’s charisma and the impact he had on so many lives: “an inspirational character, a strong businessman, and a kind person”; “a true gentleman”; “full of fun”; “one in a million”; “a gem of a man”; “the ‘real’ greatest showman”; “there will never be another like him”; “Peter left a great legacy behind him and I’m sure he’s proud of his family continuing his path”.’
Peter was a force to be reckoned with, both in the world of business and on a personal level. A lifelong, keen fisherman, bird-watcher and potter, Peter enjoyed walking and being outdoors and always had a particular fondness for the North Norfolk coastline. A true family man, Peter was married to his beloved wife Sue for over 41 years and shared four children Sam, Katy, Joe and Hannah.
Peter was diagnosed with a Glioblastoma Stage 4 tumour on New Year’s Eve and fought every step of the way. Despite undergoing radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment he tragically passed away six months after his diagnosis.
Everyone who knew him will greatly miss his sense of fun, humour and zest for life.
It was Peter’s wish that the family find a way to help others to overcome similar conditions, as only 1% of cancer funding goes to fighting brain tumours.
You can access Peter’s page by clicking on this link and then clicking on ‘Make a Donation In Memory’ button and entering the surname Lockey in the search box.
