James W. "Jim" Lambert

James W. "Jim" Lambert, family man, educator, coach, and community leader passed away Wednesday, May 27th, 2020 at Owensboro Health Regional Hospital. He was 82. Born in Tywhoppity Bottoms in Hancock County, Kentucky, a son of the late Hazel and Ida Lott Lambert, Jim began his working life on the family farm. Jim graduated from Lewisport High School, where he excelled in basketball and baseball, was class officer, and was a member and officer of FFA. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Health and Physical Education with minors in biology and history, followed by a Master of Art in Education and School Administration, and a Rank 1 in School Administration from Western Kentucky University.

In his role as an educator, he served as a teacher and assistant basketball coach at Elizabethtown Catholic High School, teacher and head basketball coach at Meade County High School, Principal at Muldraugh Elementary School, teacher and the first basketball coach at Apollo High School, assistant principal at Burns Middle School and Apollo High School, the Daviess County Board of Education as Director of Pupil Personnel, and retired as the Assistant Superintendent of Personnel.

Mr. Lambert was active in education at the professional level. A member of the Kentucky Middle School Association, and Daviess County Administrators Associates, he also served on the board of directors of the International Association of Pupil Personnel Workers. He was secretary, vice president, and president of the Kentucky Association of Pupil Personnel Workers. He served the Kentucky Association of School Administrators as a member of its board of directors and President.

Mr. Lambert's career in education spanned 39 years.

Following retirement, he began 16 years of public service, being elected as the county commissioner for Daviess County's Eastern Division. During his tenure on the fiscal court, he worked to build the Daviess County Operations Center on Highway 81, the East Daviess County fire station, the Owensboro campus of Western Kentucky University, the paving of Daviess County roads on which there were more than three homes, and bringing clean water to almost every county home. He combined his love of history and his work with the Daviess County Parks Department to spearhead the Pioneer Village at Yellow Creek Park. Upon his retirement as a county commissioner, it was renamed the Jim Lambert Pioneer Village in his honor.

Mr. Lambert was an active member of First Baptist Church, where he had served as Chairman of the Deacons and was a board member of the Daviess-McLean Baptist Association. He was also a Sunday School teacher, member of the Personnel Committee, and served on many search committees throughout the years.

He was also preceded in death by infant children James Todd Lambert and Holly Ann Lambert, and his sisters Mary Eunice Lambert, Jeanette Hubbard Kennedy, Ruby Maxine Thompson Hamilton, Martha Taylor , and brothers Stanley, Paul, Lester, and Charles "Bim" Lambert.

Those who honor the memory of Jim Lambert include his wife of 56 years, Judy Jones Lambert; his daughter Kelly Lambert Moore and her husband David; his granddaughters Kaitlyn Moore and her fiancé Drew Cunningham and Kendall Moore; and many nieces and nephews.

The funeral service for Mr. Lambert will be at 11:00 a.m. Monday at First Baptist Church. Seating for the funeral service will begin at 10:15 am at the church. Those attending will enter the church at the Daviess Street entrance. The service will be live streamed on Facebook, you may access it at www.fbcowb.org A drive-thru visitation will be from 1:00 p.m. until 2:00 p.m. Sunday followed by public visitation from 2:30 until 6:00 p.m. at Glenn Funeral Home and Crematory. The number of those attending the visitation or funeral service for Jim shall be within current health and safety directives. Family and friends shall wear appropriate personal protective masks and for the visitation please enter the doors under the canopy on the Triplett Street side of the building at the funeral home.

Entombment will be in Owensboro Memorial Gardens Mausoleum. Expressions of sympathy may take the form of contributions to First Baptist Church Benevolence Fund or Daviess County Fiscal Court/ Jim Lambert Pioneer Village.

Memories and messages of condolence may be shared with the family of Jim Lambert at www.glenncares.com.