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Doris Ellen “Pee Wee” Lambert

January 19, 2020

 

Doris Ellen “Pee Wee” Lambert, 79, of Bainbridge, Ga., passed away Sunday, January 19, 2020.

The funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, January 25, 2020 at St. John’s Episcopal Church with The Reverend Leslie Dellenbarger officiating.  Interment will be at Arlington National Cemetery. Cadet Nathaniel Lambert, Harry Rich, David Rich, Dr. Frank Flowers, Paul Fryer, Esq. and Clayton Penhallegon will serve as active pallbearers.

The family will receive friends from 6 to 7 p.m. on Friday, January 24, 2020 at Ivey Funeral Home. Online visitors may sign the guest register at www.iveyfuneral.com. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to St. John’s Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 271, Bainbridge, GA 39818.

Doris Ellen Harvey Lambert was born in the Army Hospital at Ft. Frances E. Warren, Cheyenne, Wyoming, 12 September 1940. Her father, LT/COL Dwight Harvey of Danville, Indiana, was a West Point graduate, Class of 1925 and a career Army officer. Her mother, Elsie Bennette Mabry, of San Antonio, Texas, was the personal secretary to the Governor General, Philippines, 1929-1939. While both her parents were on assignments in the Philippines, they met and married in Manila in 1937. She spent her early childhood in San Antonio with her grandparents and when WWII ended, she joined her parents on assignment in Lentz, Austria. From there COL Harvey was reassigned to Jackson, Mississippi and retired from active duty at that post in 1953. The family then settled in Virginia Beach, Virginia where Doris Ellen attended a private boarding school in Williamsburg and graduated from Norfolk Catholic High School in 1958. She attended George Washington University, majored in journalism and was a life member of ZTA.

While on a visit to West Point with her father in 1956, she met Cadet Wayne W. Lambert of Bainbridge, Georgia.  They were married at Virginia Beach in November 1959, shortly after he graduated from the academy.  During the next thirty years the family moved 22 times as her husband, an air force command pilot, advanced from 2^nd Lieutenant to Brigadier General. They had two wonderful children:  Wayne Jr, born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1961 and Benjamin Shane, born in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1964.  Both sons went on to graduate from West Point, Classes of ’84 & 86 respectively.

Doris Ellen, affectionately known to everyone as “Pee Wee” due to her petite size, was indeed an extraordinary lady.  When introduced to a six foot six Army combat ranger at the Army War College in 1976 he looked down at her and said “My, goodness, you sure are a little thing” and to that Pee Wee quickly replied, “Yes, but I can do everything those big girls can do”!  That was the way she was.  Her manners were precise and elegant, but she also carried an aura of reserve about her. She was a totally dedicated and devoted wife who made significant contributions to the success of her husband during his military career. She was a Gray Lady and Red Cross volunteer for 25 years, family services volunteer for 15 years, dental assistant, thrift shop manager and assistant librarian and, believe it or not, she was the outstanding forward on the Wichita, KS basketball team! Her character was absolutely impeccable, and she consistently maintained the highest standards of honesty and integrity in everything she did.  She was truly a wonderful mother whose loving warmth and high sense of fair play were noticeably manifested in the formative characters of her two well-disciplined and happy children.  Her husband said, “Pee Wee always has been the most loving, caring, unselfish and devoted wife and mother anyone could ever dream of having for a lifetime partner”.  She held her marriage and family above all else and never wavered from the enormous responsibilities she faced throughout a lifetime of challenging experiences.  She was imbued with a wonderful personality, steeped in rare optimism when faced with adversity, gifted with an uncommon sense of loyalty, completely unpretentious in her personal relations with others and steadfast in loving and supporting her family.  She had a consummate understanding of what was important and an innate ability to sort out the trivial whether dealing with home matters or sensitive social responsibilities.  She was gentle and compassionate, and dependable and predictable.  As a member of the Episcopal church she demonstrated a constant and steadfast commitment to her deep and abiding faith in the church and Almighty God, Our Father.

She is survived by her husband of 60 years, Brigadier General Wayne Lambert, Sr. (USAF, RET.); her two sons, Wayne and Shane, and eight grandchildren.  Wayne’s spouse, Laura, and children are Kelsey Christine, Hannah Bennette and Nathaniel Dwight Lambert.  Shane’s spouse, Teresa, and children are Philip Joseph, Maria Therese, Greta Anne, Oliver Dwight and Elijah Tobias Lambert.  She is also survived by an adoptive family: William (Chip) Dorman (USAFA’82), former wife Bonnie and their two sons Will and Alex.  Also surviving are her two half-sisters: Joan Daniels (Admiral Bill Daniels, USNA ‘54) of Orange Beach, Ala. and Jean Lear (Jack) of Tucson, Arizona.