Tributes

In Lieu of flowers, the family prefers any donations to be made in Bill's honor to St. James Episcopal Church. If you choose to make a donation, you may send a check to the church at 1020 West Lafayette Avenue Baltimore, MD 21217. Please write "In memory of Bill Lambert" on the memo line. Early Years William “Bill” E. Lambert was a life-long community servant with roots in Baltimore City and Baltimore County and had a heart for serving, helping, and encouraging others. Bill was born in Goldston, North Carolina on September 12, 1935 as one of 12 children to Gladys and Melvin Lambert. Bill spent a short time in North Carolina and then spent his formative years in South Baltimore when his family relocated in 1939. His younger siblings knew Bill to be stern - if he said something, they knew to obey! Growing up with modest means shaped Bill to cherish hard work and forged in him a fierce determination to make a difference in his community and to excel and succeed, despite his circumstances. This determination was evident in every aspect of his young life – whether it was walking from South Baltimore to West Baltimore daily to attend junior and senior high school, or the different jobs he held to help support the family such as driving oil delivery and ice delivery trucks while in high school, or working at a health department laboratory through college. Always athletic, Bill excelled at football in high school, earning a full college scholarship. Unfortunately, due to a serious knee injury he was not able to fulfill the scholarship. Undeterred and because of his love of sports, Bill chose to major in Physical Education when he attended Morgan State University. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Morgan in 1958 and later went on to earn his master’s degree, also from Morgan. Love of His Life In 1956, during what some might say was a chance meeting, Bill met Thelma Barbara Rice and it was love at first sight. Their courtship included numerous dates to clubs on Pennsylvania Avenue to listen to the great jazz musicians of the day. After dating for 2 years Bill and Barbara were married on June 7, 1958 at St. James Episcopal Church Lafayette Square in Baltimore. The couple honeymooned at Watkins Glen, NY and then Bill was drafted by the Army and sent to basic training at Ft. Bragg just a few short weeks after their wedding. Bill subsequently completed a two-year deployment in Honolulu, HI with Barbara at his side for the last six months. Upon returning to Maryland, they settled in West Baltimore where they began raising their family. Family Man While pursuing their full-time careers, their family unit was expanded when their daughters, Erytheia and Cassandra, were born. Bill was a dedicated husband and father who worked hard to provide a stable and loving home. In later years, Bill was also a doting grandfather to Jamel and Naomi and loved giving advice, counsel, and encouragement, as well as sharing with them his opinions about politics and current events. He loved visiting out of town family members living in NC, VA and other states. He was happiest when reminiscing with siblings and other family members at family reunions. In fact, for many years Bill organized the Tuck-Womble-Lambert reunions. Bill also enjoyed attending the Lambert family reunions and meeting new family members on his father’s side. He was protective, caring, and would do anything within his power for his family. For fun, Bill and Barbara loved traveling. Among their travels were bus trips that included New York theatre productions, Senegal, Africa, and a ski trip (they didn’t ski but enjoyed watching others!). In addition, Bill was a true history buff and could tell you little known facts about a wide variety of subjects. He greatly enjoyed going to museums wherever he traveled. The last trip that Bill took was an eight-day family cruise to Bermuda which he thoroughly loved – he was grinning from ear to ear the entire time (especially when listening to the Reggae band on the Lido deck!) and was looking forward to cruising again. Working Years Bill’s career spanned over three decades, beginning in the U.S. Army and culminating with the Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks, where he worked his way up through the ranks from jobs that were identified as “black only jobs.” At a time when it was still difficult for African Americans to progress to leadership positions, Bill broke the barriers that kept many out of such positions to become Baltimore County’s first African American area superintendent in 1985. During his tenure with the Department of Recreation and Parks, Bill worked tirelessly on numerous committees whose purpose was to improve and preserve the surrounding communities, as well as to improve the lives of those in the communities. Faith Life Connecting his talents and his faith, Bill was an active and committed member of St. James Episcopal Church for over 60 years and tirelessly served in numerous capacities including: Chairman of the Board for Youth Ministries, President of Brotherhood of St. Andrew, Chairman of Adult Christian Education, Co-chair of the Jazz Vespers Committee and Chair of Jazz Concerts, Sunday School teacher, member of the Church Vestry, lay reader, Rites of Passage instructor, and member of the Bereavement Committee. Bill also served the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland by co-chairing a regional convention and serving on their Anti-Racism Committee, and the Commission on Ministries. He was always ready to support the church’s activities and would volunteer to escort guest speakers/artists when needed. Bill was not satisfied to simply read the scriptures but strived to live them out and encouraged others to do the same. Community Service Bill used his God-given talents as a leader, teacher, mentor, speaker, advisor, and outspoken advocate to help the organizations of which he was a part to operate at their best and to help others succeed. In the process, Bill lived out the words of the apostle Paul: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” (Colossians 3:23, 24). Since his retirement in 1996 Bill remained actively involved in serving the community in many ways, such as serving as past President of The Friends of Benjamin Banneker Historical Park and Museum (which promotes the historical preservation of the Historical Park and Museum), past treasurer of the East Towson Community Association, and past campaign manager for the current speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates, Adrienne Jones. He was also involved with numerous community organizations - Baltimore County Health Department Volunteer Association, State Board of Dietetic Practice, Windsor Mill Community Association – to name a few. Even in his later years, Bill was still actively involved as a member or chairman of several committees in his church, a member of the Baltimore County Commission on Aging and the Featherbed-Windsor Park Community Association and served as president of the Board of St. James Terrace Apartments (a housing complex for low-income seniors). Legacy Bill will be deeply missed by many. He was preceded in death by his parents Gladys and Melvin Lambert and his siblings: Cordelia, Theodore, Daisy Mickle, Talf “Monroe”, Harry, Rita Williams, Vernell and Evone Penn. Bill leaves to mourn his passing his wife of 62 years, Barbara; daughters Erytheia (Kelven Jones) and Cassandra; his grandchildren, Jamel Murphy and Naomi Jones; his great granddaughter, Gisselle “GiGi” Rose; his siblings, Arthur Lambert, Eugene Lambert (Barbara), and Anita Lambert Carter (Jerry); and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. Although we are deeply saddened, the family finds healing, comfort, and strength in God’s tender embrace and in knowing that Bill touched so many lives during his fruitful life. We rejoice in knowing that Bill loved Jesus and we anxiously await the day when we will meet him again at the Tree of Life in a new world in which we will have eternity together with our Heavenly Father. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Tributes

William "Bill" Lambert

September 12, 1935 - January 13, 2021