When Phil Locke called high school senior Allan Cornett in 1969 and encouraged him to attend Harvard University, Cornett thought the caller was a football teammate playing a joke.

Cornett, a Harvard graduate, teacher and San Jacinto school board president, recalled his skepticism in that first conversation when he heard this week about Mr. Locke's death.

The former Riverside resident died July 28 of an abdominal aortic aneurysm at an Arlington, Mass., nursing home. He was 88.

Francis Philbrick "Phil" Locke, a 1933 graduate cum laude of the Ivy League school, was an alumni volunteer who recruited Southern California high school students, including Cornett, for the university.

"He opened the doors for them and certainly brought opportunities to them that changed their lives," Cornett said. To Locke, "the value of Harvard was not just the reputation, but how they taught you how to live well" and to appreciate the arts and contribute to the community, said Cornett.

Mr. Locke spotted Cornett, a football player and debate team member, while scouting another football player at an Anaheim football game. He checked Cornett's academic credentials then called him. The phone call changed Cornett's life.

Mr. Locke visited homes of recruits, introduced them to other Harvard men, took them to lunch at the Mission Inn in Riverside and knocked on their doors at the Cambridge, Mass., campus to check on their progress. His caring nature motivated Cornett to give back by becoming a volunteer recruiter too.

Among Mr. Locke's recruits were two Harvard football captains and all-American Pat McInally. The Villa Park High School graduate later played for the Cincinnati Bengals. For his endeavors, Mr. Locke was awarded the Harvard Medal in 1983. He belonged to the Harvard Club of Southern California.

Mr. Locke was a journalist for 40 years, including almost 10 years as an editorial page writer at The Press-Enterprise before he retired in 1972. He lived in Riverside 36 years. The Lincoln, Neb., native moved back to Cambridge last year.

He was hired as a reporter by the Miami Daily News in 1933. He switched to editorial writing two years later and worked for papers in St. Louis and Dayton, Ohio, before he moved to Riverside.

In 1945, he was awarded a prize for editorial writing by Sigma Delta Chi, a national journalists group. The following year, he was named a Nieman fellow at Harvard, where he studied international relations for a year.

In Riverside, Mr. Locke was active in the Mission Inn Foundation. He was a member of First Congregational Church in Riverside.

A memorial service for Mr. Locke is tentatively set for Sept. 30 at First Congregational Church. Another service will be at 2 p.m. Aug. 24 at Harvard's Appleton Chapel. J.S. Waterman Sons Funeral Home in Wellesley, Mass., handled arrangements.

He is survived by two daughters and a son, Margaret Newhouse, Alice Carey and Walter Locke, all of Boston; three grandchildren; and four nieces.

The family suggests memorial contributions to the Mission Inn Foundation or the Francis P. Locke 1933 Scholarship Fund, in care of Harvard College Fund, 124 Mount Auburn St., Cambridge, 02138.

Gail Wesson can be reached by e-mail at gwesson@pe.com or by phone at (909) 782-7614.