William Franklin Lambert

In the coming year I want to share information about our ancestors.  Two years ago my brother Bill passed away so I wanted to begin by telling you some things about him.  Bill was born June 29, 1943 and was seven when I was born.  He was the oldest child of William Elvis Lambert and Elizabeth Jane Hickey.  When new neighbors moved in next door to us we became friends and they introduced us to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  After missionary lessons our whole family was baptized on March 3, 1960.  Bill already had several friends who were LDS and was attending various activities with them.  My parents were active for a few years and slowly stopped attending but Bill never did.  His example kept me grounded and committed to my baptismal covenants.  From the time Bill was old enough he always had a job.  I think he often gave my mom money to help her make ends meet when my dad didn't have work because of a union strike or when the building industry didn't have work to do.  When Bill graduated from Washington High School he applied and was accepted at BYU.  After his freshman year he came home and told my parents he wanted to serve a mission for the church.  My dad was upset and said that if he went on a mission he wouldn't

finish college.  My brother said he would and would go on a mission without my dad's approval if he wasn't willing to give it.  My dad eventually agreed and Bill was called to serve in the Brazil South Mission.  After two years he came back and went back to BYU.  While attending there he signed up to be in the Air Force ROTC program and when he graduated from BYU he went into the Air Force as an officer.  Bill met his wife Beverly Jean Ethridge in Sacramento where he was stationed at the time.  They married in 1971 in the Oakland California Temple.  They had four children: Ryan, Clayn, Eryn and Wyn.  Bill became a navigator on the B52 Bomber.  After Wyn was born he wanted to attend law school so he retired from active duty and went to Spokane Washington where he received his law degree from Gonzaga University.  Shortly after he arrived in Washington he was called to serve as a Bishop.  Once he had his law degree he worked in Idaho and was also in the Air National Guard.  They remained in Idaho until he retired.  After they retired they moved to Sierra Vista, Arizona.  Bill and Bev served two missions after his and Bev's retirement (Bev was an elementary school teacher).  The first mission was in Brazil and the second mission was in Slovenia.  Bill was my hero.  The thing I have missed most about him is our long phone conversations.  He was a wonderful story teller and I never minded when he repeated a story he had already told me.  After various health issues Bill passed away on January 5, 2023.

Senior Picture

David, my Grandma Hickey, Bill 1968