James P. Lambert, 80, Dickinson, passed away on Saturday, April 14, 2012 at St. Joseph’s Hospital & Health Center, Dickinson, with his loving wife at his side. Mass of Christian Burial for James will be at 10 a.m., Friday, April 20, 2012 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Dickinson, with Fr. Keith Streifel as the celebrant. Inurnment will take place at St. Joseph’s Cemetery at a later date. Visitation will be from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Thursday at Ladbury Funeral Service, Dickinson, with a vigil at 7 p.m., with Deacon Bob Zent presiding.
James Patrick Lambert was born July 7, 1931 in Minneapolis, Minn., the son of Elisha “Levi” and Norma (Bohlen) Lambert. He was raised and educated in Minneapolis where he graduated from Minneapolis Central High School, and became an avid Vikings fan.
James had married Beverly Hilborn in 1965. He was a jack-of-all-trades and had his hands into a little bit of everything. He worked for the Ford Motor Assembly Plant, St. Paul, Minn., and from there went to work for Crown Zellerbach as a paper maker in St. Helen’s, Ore., and later to Missoula, Mont. to work as a machine tender for Hoerner Waldorf. Following the closures of the companies, James moved to Fargo, where he worked at Steiger Tractor as a foremen and supervisor, for Ehrichs Manufacturing as a supervisor, and at Concord Inc., as a supervisor. He made the move to Dickinson where he went to work for BJ Hughes as a manager, Steffes and Sons as a controller, and the German-Hungarian as a bartender. James then drove cars for Dan Porter Motors prior to becoming the amazing, cheerful greeter at Wal-Mart for the past 11 years, this he did with great pride, being the Grinch at Christmas.
On November 2, 1983, James married the love of his life, Martha (Roller) Galster, in Rapid City, S.D. He enjoyed life to the fullest, and took every moment and made sure to enjoy every single tiny piece of it. He had many friends from all over. James enjoyed golfing, hunting and fishing, and loved to spend time with his family and especially his grandchildren. Anyone that knew him, was well aware that he was a jokester and prankster, after all, when you were as cute as him, you can’t take life too seriously. He also loved to tease and joke with all the children that he would greet at Wal-Mart. He had fun playing cards and UNO with grandkids and attending the Steffes Christmas parties where he created laughs every year. He brought endless smiles and huge laughs to everyone he knew, he just wanted to make people happy.
James is survived by his wife, Martha; daughter, Cathy (Mark) Tabish, Missoula, Mont.; son, Mike Lambert, Missoula; daughter-in-law, Sandy Lambert, Missoula; seven step-children, Cindy Gibson, Toledo, Ohio, Julie White, Shepherd, Mont., Daniel (Lori) Galster, Dickinson, Jerry (LaVonne Kinney) Galster, Dickinson, Carol Page, Emmet, Idaho, Neil (LeeAnn) Galster, Dickinson, and Lisa Schmaltz, Bismarck; 17 grandchildren, Sadie and Kami Tabish, Jozelyn Lambert, Jamie (Dana) Cramer, Cory (Cory) Blanken, Key Gibson, Sarah and Amanda Galster, Erika Galster, Ashley, Barbara and Melissa Page, Chelsey, Christian, Desirae, Dustie and Shelby Schmaltz; 11 great-grandchildren; brother, Mike (Cindy) Lambert, Bloomington, Minn.; brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, Keith Scherer, Russell (Marlys) Hilborn, Virgil (Marian) Hilborn, and Vivian Thomas; numerous nieces and nephews; and his special friend, Mel (Diane) Mayher. He was preceded in death by his parents; sister, Pattie Scherer; son, Kim Lambert; and 11 brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law.
James will be greatly missed and will continue to be loved everyday.
