Eugene Murphy Locke (January 6, 1918 – April 28, 1972) was an American lawyer, businessman, politician, and diplomat from Dallas, Texas, who in 1967 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

[9] Maurice Eugene Locke, who was born on a farm in Will County, Illinois, on Feb. 12, 1861, came to Dallas in 1888, when it had a population of 46,701 (more than triple that of 10 years earlier).

He arrived as the 27-year-old manager of the Texas department of Jarvis-Conklin Mortgage Trust Company of Kansas City, which advertised that it made loans on improved real estate and ranch property.

With him were his wife, Mary Dixon Locke; his six-year-old daughter, Ginevra; and his four-year-old son, Eugene Perry.

Maurice Locke also was made president of Central National Bank of Dallas, chartered by Jarvis-Conklin in September 1889.

The firm strove only to render the highest quality of honest service to its clients and to merit their absolute confidence.

[15] Indeed, in December 1910, Maurice Locke was recommended as a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court in a letter to Attorney General George Wickersham by Haley Fiske of the New York-based Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. Fiske called Maurice Locke "the best lawyer I ever met," and said he was "quite sure he is the best life insurance lawyer in the United States.

"[16] Wickersham responded in a letter that Maurice Locke’s name "has been brought to my attention several times" and he is "very highly spoken of" and "may be of value to the Government in some important post.

In his letter declining the offer, Eugene P. Locke wrote that he was "deeply sensible of the great honor" bestowed, but "it will be impossible for me to accept."

[19] A newspaper editorial after Eugene P. Locke’s death said that he was "widely recognized as one of the country’s most successful and responsible lawyers in the field of civil practice" and that "in the highest ethical concept of the profession he was unflinchingly and indefatigably a seeker of justice through the processes of law.

[21] The Crosby was a Wickes-class destroyer, launched in 1918 and recommissioned in 1939, that was converted to a high-speed transport in 1943 and earned a Navy Unit Commendation and 10 battle stars during World War II.

[27] In 1960, Eugene M. Locke worked on behalf of Lyndon Johnson’s presidential nomination in some states in the Midwest, and he also put his efforts behind the Kennedy-Johnson ticket after the Los Angeles Democratic convention.

[29] Connally, who had met Locke at the University of Texas, resigned as secretary of the Navy under President Kennedy to run for governor.

[35] In an election won by Preston Smith, Locke placed fifth out of 10 candidates in the Democratic primary despite having one of the most notable and easy to sing campaign songs.

After her husband’s death in Dallas on April 28, 1972, from a malignant brain tumor, Adele Neely Locke became a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society through giving talks about Asia and her experiences in the diplomatic corps.