My sister Anita got her wings this morning after a long battle with lung cancer.
She is survived by her daughters, Kelah, Bridgette, Tori and Erin, grandchildren Tara, Joseph, Ashley, Kyle and Kara, and three great grandchildren, Varren, Cofer and Valerie, and one sibling, sister, Rosemary [Rosie] Kassab of Brownstown Township, Michigan, and many nieces, nephews and other family members.
Preceded in death by her devoted husband, Commander Francis Richard Lambert, loving parents Frank and Anita Clara and seven siblings, brothers Frank, Fortunato, James, Robert and John Clara and two sisters, Carolina Petrykowski and MaryAnn Perry.
I will add a tribute to her life when I am able. Please keep her family in your prayers.
Heartfelt thanks to Find A Grave contributor Claudia Harrison for photographing and posting my sister and her husbands memorial marker. May your kindness be returned to you one hundred-fold.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Published by the Botetourt Funeral Home, Buchanan, Virginia.
Anita Rita Clara Lambert, formerly of Eagle Rock VA, passed away on October 15, 2021. She was born January 16, 1936, in Detroit, MI to the late Marianna Anita Scalzi Clara and Frank Dominic "One Punch" Clara. She was married to the late Commander Francis Richard "Dick" Lambert for fifty-five years; together, they resided in Eagle Rock for forty-seven years. Anita dearly loved and was greatly loved by her family. She is survived by her four daughters, Kelah, Bridgette, Tori, and Erin; three sons-in-law, Roger, Bill, and Kenric; five grandchildren, Tara, Joseph, Ashley, Kyle, and Kara; three great grandchildren, Varren, Cofer, and Valerie; her youngest sister Rosie; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins too numerous to name. A consummate story-teller, writer, and researcher, Anita was proud of her Italian heritage and she self-published four genealogy books, the first of which was a compilation of matrilineal tales, photographs, and recipes from and about over 700 ancestors and relatives. She enjoyed entertaining family and friends who loved hearing her stories about her ancestors' many triumphs and tragedies. Her cannoli will also be missed! Though Anita insisted her daughters go to college, she was a graduate of the School of Hard Knocks and received most of her education working as a waitress, writer, editor, chauffeur, clerk, secretary, antique shop owner, swimming pool entrepreneur, church business manager, senior citizen program coordinator, market researcher, and rural mail carrier. She retired from the USPS in 1999. No stranger to struggle, Anita generously shared what she had and gave what she could to others. Her funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, November 6, 2021, at The Catholic Church of the Transfiguration at 7624 Roanoke Road in Fincastle, VA with Father Stephen McNally officiating. Following the service, her family will receive friends in the church Social Hall until 3:00 p.m. Her ashes will be inurned with her husband's in a private family service at the Southwest Virginia Veterans Cemetery in Dublin, VA. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Anita Rita Clara Scholarship Fund at Roanoke College. Please send checks made payable to Roanoke College to the Roanoke College Resource Development Office, 221 College Lane, Salem, VA 24153. Online contributions also may be made at www.roanoke.edu\givetoday by selecting "Other" under Designation, then typing Anita Rita Clara Scholarship Fund into the Gift Designation field. Online condolences may be made at www.botetourtfuneralhome.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anita Rita Clara Lambert Eulogy November 6, 2021
Church of the Transfiguration
Fincastle, Virginia
Written and delivered by Kelah N. Clarke, Daughter
Our Mom, my Mom, Anita Rita Clara Lambert, had a lot of mom'isms" to share with her four daughters, me, Kelah, and my sister's Bridgette, Tori and Erin.
And because she lived a long life, she was blessed with five beloved grand's, Tara, Joseph, Ashley, Kyle and Kara and three great grand's, Varren, Cofer and Valerie.
Mom's number one "mom'ism" was "Life is Choices."
Mom was a maverick before the word became fashionable, especially for a woman born in 1936.
Mom was one of nine children born to an Italian immigrant mother and her father was the son of Italian immigrants. Mom's parents were thrifty and hardworking. Mom's mom, also called Anita, was married at age 15.
Our Mom, Anita, was sibling number seven and managed to be one of four siblings graduating high school in Detroit, Michigan, where she was born and raised. However, maverick Mom was the only one of her siblings to leave Detroit.
Mom left Detroit immediately upon high school graduation to sell magazine subscriptions, door to door, on the east coast and in the mid-west, until she was given money for a bus ticket by her employer, as things were not working out for mom or the company.
On this day, her 18th birthday, in the month of January, she decided to board the bus headed to Palm Beach, Florida where she secured work as a waitress on Worth Avenue serving high falutin' movie stars.
By the time season was over, she went back to Detroit where she crafted maverick plan C and made the move to southern California and started her family life there in the mid 1950's: "California Dreamin'."
Yet, from there, Mom made another maverick move, she and our Dad, a young Naval Officer, began a grand chaotic journey around our country pursuing Dad's military orders while Mom pursued Mom and charity roles.
Finally, when they completed their services to our country, mom realized her dream to settle down in Eagle Rock, Virginia in a very old Victorian style home and while in that house, the house aged another 47 years.
Mom pursued many entrepreneurial and managerial jobs. Her last job, as a rural mail carrier, afforded her a pension and a thrift retirement savings plan, which was a real victory. However, Mom most likely would like for us to remember her as a retired mail bag!
Mom made a point, in her final years, to make her thrift retirement plan beneficiaries two, in perpetuity scholarship funds, honoring her late husband, Dick Lambert, at Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia and herself, The Anita Rita Clara Scholarship Fund at Roanoke College, in Salem, Virginia.
Mom made certain that her four daughter's pursued college degrees.
During Mom's Eagle Rock years, Mom was able, with Dad, with family, and with friends to realize a life long dream to travel and really see the world.
Mom was not the kind of traveler putting push pins on a map of the globe. Instead, Mom was the kind of traveler who wanted to meet people and genuinely understand why things and places are the way they are. As a result, Mom collected many friends from everywhere, and many of these friends traveled to visit Mom and Dad in Eagle Rock. As a result, Mom became one of the wisest and most brilliant self educated women of her era.
As I said earlier, Mom's number one "mom'ism" was "Life is Choices." Mom made good and bad choices, we all do, but she made HER choices.
All of us are here today, to celebrate the life and friendship of Anita Rita Clara Lambert...she would encourage you, using my voice, to make your life choices count!
Mom, as a first generation daughter of Italian immigrants, decided late in life to make the trip of a lifetime, to where her mother and grandparents were born in Southern Italy, more specifically, Petrona in Calabria.
Shortly thereafter, Mom wrote me an email on August 25, 2018.
"You've Got Mail!!!!"
Mom wrote to me:
"After you've read "The Good Mothers" by Alex Perry, see if you agree that the Italian family running the restaurant we ate in, in Mesoraco, is part of the Calabrian mafia? Now, I know why there were so many locks on our vacation villa. The reason we could have not read the book before we went is because it was just recently published and all of this was going on while we were there. Luv ya, Mom"
I responded:
"Everything and everybody said not to go to Calabria, but we did, with help from Franco and Salvatore. It was the best trip of my life! Thank you! I am a more complete person because of the time we spent there. It was as if my DNA went home. Varren, my grandson, is a total Scalzi in my mind's eye.
He will be going! Hope I can make it happen. I suspect there will be very little change."
Mom responded:
"Ditto, that was the best trip of my life. Agree with what you've said."
Mom self published many genealogy and travel books, all of them distributed to family and friends. She had dogged determination to accurately research her subject. Our families next generations will benefit from mom's many books.
We sisters hope to complete Mom's last book, in progress, the history of the Bessemer house in Eagle Rock.
On a final note, Babs, my Mom's long time Eagle Rock friend, said to me after Mom's last illness, that
"Anita was kind, faithful and forgiving."
Those are our Mom's other "mom'isms."
Our Mom will be missed by all of you who have gathered here today and by many more who's life Anita Rita Clara Lambert touched.
Thank you for being here to celebrate our Mom's life
She is survived by her daughters, Kelah, Bridgette, Tori and Erin, grandchildren Tara, Joseph, Ashley, Kyle and Kara, and three great grandchildren, Varren, Cofer and Valerie, and one sibling, sister, Rosemary [Rosie] Kassab of Brownstown Township, Michigan, and many nieces, nephews and other family members.
Preceded in death by her devoted husband, Commander Francis Richard Lambert, loving parents Frank and Anita Clara and seven siblings, brothers Frank, Fortunato, James, Robert and John Clara and two sisters, Carolina Petrykowski and MaryAnn Perry.
I will add a tribute to her life when I am able. Please keep her family in your prayers.
Heartfelt thanks to Find A Grave contributor Claudia Harrison for photographing and posting my sister and her husbands memorial marker. May your kindness be returned to you one hundred-fold.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Published by the Botetourt Funeral Home, Buchanan, Virginia.
Anita Rita Clara Lambert, formerly of Eagle Rock VA, passed away on October 15, 2021. She was born January 16, 1936, in Detroit, MI to the late Marianna Anita Scalzi Clara and Frank Dominic "One Punch" Clara. She was married to the late Commander Francis Richard "Dick" Lambert for fifty-five years; together, they resided in Eagle Rock for forty-seven years. Anita dearly loved and was greatly loved by her family. She is survived by her four daughters, Kelah, Bridgette, Tori, and Erin; three sons-in-law, Roger, Bill, and Kenric; five grandchildren, Tara, Joseph, Ashley, Kyle, and Kara; three great grandchildren, Varren, Cofer, and Valerie; her youngest sister Rosie; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins too numerous to name. A consummate story-teller, writer, and researcher, Anita was proud of her Italian heritage and she self-published four genealogy books, the first of which was a compilation of matrilineal tales, photographs, and recipes from and about over 700 ancestors and relatives. She enjoyed entertaining family and friends who loved hearing her stories about her ancestors' many triumphs and tragedies. Her cannoli will also be missed! Though Anita insisted her daughters go to college, she was a graduate of the School of Hard Knocks and received most of her education working as a waitress, writer, editor, chauffeur, clerk, secretary, antique shop owner, swimming pool entrepreneur, church business manager, senior citizen program coordinator, market researcher, and rural mail carrier. She retired from the USPS in 1999. No stranger to struggle, Anita generously shared what she had and gave what she could to others. Her funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, November 6, 2021, at The Catholic Church of the Transfiguration at 7624 Roanoke Road in Fincastle, VA with Father Stephen McNally officiating. Following the service, her family will receive friends in the church Social Hall until 3:00 p.m. Her ashes will be inurned with her husband's in a private family service at the Southwest Virginia Veterans Cemetery in Dublin, VA. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Anita Rita Clara Scholarship Fund at Roanoke College. Please send checks made payable to Roanoke College to the Roanoke College Resource Development Office, 221 College Lane, Salem, VA 24153. Online contributions also may be made at www.roanoke.edu\givetoday by selecting "Other" under Designation, then typing Anita Rita Clara Scholarship Fund into the Gift Designation field. Online condolences may be made at www.botetourtfuneralhome.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anita Rita Clara Lambert Eulogy November 6, 2021
Church of the Transfiguration
Fincastle, Virginia
Written and delivered by Kelah N. Clarke, Daughter
Our Mom, my Mom, Anita Rita Clara Lambert, had a lot of mom'isms" to share with her four daughters, me, Kelah, and my sister's Bridgette, Tori and Erin.
And because she lived a long life, she was blessed with five beloved grand's, Tara, Joseph, Ashley, Kyle and Kara and three great grand's, Varren, Cofer and Valerie.
Mom's number one "mom'ism" was "Life is Choices."
Mom was a maverick before the word became fashionable, especially for a woman born in 1936.
Mom was one of nine children born to an Italian immigrant mother and her father was the son of Italian immigrants. Mom's parents were thrifty and hardworking. Mom's mom, also called Anita, was married at age 15.
Our Mom, Anita, was sibling number seven and managed to be one of four siblings graduating high school in Detroit, Michigan, where she was born and raised. However, maverick Mom was the only one of her siblings to leave Detroit.
Mom left Detroit immediately upon high school graduation to sell magazine subscriptions, door to door, on the east coast and in the mid-west, until she was given money for a bus ticket by her employer, as things were not working out for mom or the company.
On this day, her 18th birthday, in the month of January, she decided to board the bus headed to Palm Beach, Florida where she secured work as a waitress on Worth Avenue serving high falutin' movie stars.
By the time season was over, she went back to Detroit where she crafted maverick plan C and made the move to southern California and started her family life there in the mid 1950's: "California Dreamin'."
Yet, from there, Mom made another maverick move, she and our Dad, a young Naval Officer, began a grand chaotic journey around our country pursuing Dad's military orders while Mom pursued Mom and charity roles.
Finally, when they completed their services to our country, mom realized her dream to settle down in Eagle Rock, Virginia in a very old Victorian style home and while in that house, the house aged another 47 years.
Mom pursued many entrepreneurial and managerial jobs. Her last job, as a rural mail carrier, afforded her a pension and a thrift retirement savings plan, which was a real victory. However, Mom most likely would like for us to remember her as a retired mail bag!
Mom made a point, in her final years, to make her thrift retirement plan beneficiaries two, in perpetuity scholarship funds, honoring her late husband, Dick Lambert, at Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia and herself, The Anita Rita Clara Scholarship Fund at Roanoke College, in Salem, Virginia.
Mom made certain that her four daughter's pursued college degrees.
During Mom's Eagle Rock years, Mom was able, with Dad, with family, and with friends to realize a life long dream to travel and really see the world.
Mom was not the kind of traveler putting push pins on a map of the globe. Instead, Mom was the kind of traveler who wanted to meet people and genuinely understand why things and places are the way they are. As a result, Mom collected many friends from everywhere, and many of these friends traveled to visit Mom and Dad in Eagle Rock. As a result, Mom became one of the wisest and most brilliant self educated women of her era.
As I said earlier, Mom's number one "mom'ism" was "Life is Choices." Mom made good and bad choices, we all do, but she made HER choices.
All of us are here today, to celebrate the life and friendship of Anita Rita Clara Lambert...she would encourage you, using my voice, to make your life choices count!
Mom, as a first generation daughter of Italian immigrants, decided late in life to make the trip of a lifetime, to where her mother and grandparents were born in Southern Italy, more specifically, Petrona in Calabria.
Shortly thereafter, Mom wrote me an email on August 25, 2018.
"You've Got Mail!!!!"
Mom wrote to me:
"After you've read "The Good Mothers" by Alex Perry, see if you agree that the Italian family running the restaurant we ate in, in Mesoraco, is part of the Calabrian mafia? Now, I know why there were so many locks on our vacation villa. The reason we could have not read the book before we went is because it was just recently published and all of this was going on while we were there. Luv ya, Mom"
I responded:
"Everything and everybody said not to go to Calabria, but we did, with help from Franco and Salvatore. It was the best trip of my life! Thank you! I am a more complete person because of the time we spent there. It was as if my DNA went home. Varren, my grandson, is a total Scalzi in my mind's eye.
He will be going! Hope I can make it happen. I suspect there will be very little change."
Mom responded:
"Ditto, that was the best trip of my life. Agree with what you've said."
Mom self published many genealogy and travel books, all of them distributed to family and friends. She had dogged determination to accurately research her subject. Our families next generations will benefit from mom's many books.
We sisters hope to complete Mom's last book, in progress, the history of the Bessemer house in Eagle Rock.
On a final note, Babs, my Mom's long time Eagle Rock friend, said to me after Mom's last illness, that
"Anita was kind, faithful and forgiving."
Those are our Mom's other "mom'isms."
Our Mom will be missed by all of you who have gathered here today and by many more who's life Anita Rita Clara Lambert touched.
Thank you for being here to celebrate our Mom's life
My sister Anita got her wings this morning after a long battle with lung cancer.
She is survived by her daughters, Kelah, Bridgette, Tori and Erin, grandchildren Tara, Joseph, Ashley, Kyle and Kara, and three great grandchildren, Varren, Cofer and Valerie, and one sibling, sister, Rosemary [Rosie] Kassab of Brownstown Township, Michigan, and many nieces, nephews and other family members.
Preceded in death by her devoted husband, Commander Francis Richard Lambert, loving parents Frank and Anita Clara and seven siblings, brothers Frank, Fortunato, James, Robert and John Clara and two sisters, Carolina Petrykowski and MaryAnn Perry.
I will add a tribute to her life when I am able. Please keep her family in your prayers.
Heartfelt thanks to Find A Grave contributor Claudia Harrison for photographing and posting my sister and her husbands memorial marker. May your kindness be returned to you one hundred-fold.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Published by the Botetourt Funeral Home, Buchanan, Virginia.
Anita Rita Clara Lambert, formerly of Eagle Rock VA, passed away on October 15, 2021. She was born January 16, 1936, in Detroit, MI to the late Marianna Anita Scalzi Clara and Frank Dominic "One Punch" Clara. She was married to the late Commander Francis Richard "Dick" Lambert for fifty-five years; together, they resided in Eagle Rock for forty-seven years. Anita dearly loved and was greatly loved by her family. She is survived by her four daughters, Kelah, Bridgette, Tori, and Erin; three sons-in-law, Roger, Bill, and Kenric; five grandchildren, Tara, Joseph, Ashley, Kyle, and Kara; three great grandchildren, Varren, Cofer, and Valerie; her youngest sister Rosie; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins too numerous to name. A consummate story-teller, writer, and researcher, Anita was proud of her Italian heritage and she self-published four genealogy books, the first of which was a compilation of matrilineal tales, photographs, and recipes from and about over 700 ancestors and relatives. She enjoyed entertaining family and friends who loved hearing her stories about her ancestors' many triumphs and tragedies. Her cannoli will also be missed! Though Anita insisted her daughters go to college, she was a graduate of the School of Hard Knocks and received most of her education working as a waitress, writer, editor, chauffeur, clerk, secretary, antique shop owner, swimming pool entrepreneur, church business manager, senior citizen program coordinator, market researcher, and rural mail carrier. She retired from the USPS in 1999. No stranger to struggle, Anita generously shared what she had and gave what she could to others. Her funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, November 6, 2021, at The Catholic Church of the Transfiguration at 7624 Roanoke Road in Fincastle, VA with Father Stephen McNally officiating. Following the service, her family will receive friends in the church Social Hall until 3:00 p.m. Her ashes will be inurned with her husband's in a private family service at the Southwest Virginia Veterans Cemetery in Dublin, VA. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Anita Rita Clara Scholarship Fund at Roanoke College. Please send checks made payable to Roanoke College to the Roanoke College Resource Development Office, 221 College Lane, Salem, VA 24153. Online contributions also may be made at www.roanoke.edu\givetoday by selecting "Other" under Designation, then typing Anita Rita Clara Scholarship Fund into the Gift Designation field. Online condolences may be made at www.botetourtfuneralhome.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anita Rita Clara Lambert Eulogy November 6, 2021
Church of the Transfiguration
Fincastle, Virginia
Written and delivered by Kelah N. Clarke, Daughter
Our Mom, my Mom, Anita Rita Clara Lambert, had a lot of mom'isms" to share with her four daughters, me, Kelah, and my sister's Bridgette, Tori and Erin.
And because she lived a long life, she was blessed with five beloved grand's, Tara, Joseph, Ashley, Kyle and Kara and three great grand's, Varren, Cofer and Valerie.
Mom's number one "mom'ism" was "Life is Choices."
Mom was a maverick before the word became fashionable, especially for a woman born in 1936.
Mom was one of nine children born to an Italian immigrant mother and her father was the son of Italian immigrants. Mom's parents were thrifty and hardworking. Mom's mom, also called Anita, was married at age 15.
Our Mom, Anita, was sibling number seven and managed to be one of four siblings graduating high school in Detroit, Michigan, where she was born and raised. However, maverick Mom was the only one of her siblings to leave Detroit.
Mom left Detroit immediately upon high school graduation to sell magazine subscriptions, door to door, on the east coast and in the mid-west, until she was given money for a bus ticket by her employer, as things were not working out for mom or the company.
On this day, her 18th birthday, in the month of January, she decided to board the bus headed to Palm Beach, Florida where she secured work as a waitress on Worth Avenue serving high falutin' movie stars.
By the time season was over, she went back to Detroit where she crafted maverick plan C and made the move to southern California and started her family life there in the mid 1950's: "California Dreamin'."
Yet, from there, Mom made another maverick move, she and our Dad, a young Naval Officer, began a grand chaotic journey around our country pursuing Dad's military orders while Mom pursued Mom and charity roles.
Finally, when they completed their services to our country, mom realized her dream to settle down in Eagle Rock, Virginia in a very old Victorian style home and while in that house, the house aged another 47 years.
Mom pursued many entrepreneurial and managerial jobs. Her last job, as a rural mail carrier, afforded her a pension and a thrift retirement savings plan, which was a real victory. However, Mom most likely would like for us to remember her as a retired mail bag!
Mom made a point, in her final years, to make her thrift retirement plan beneficiaries two, in perpetuity scholarship funds, honoring her late husband, Dick Lambert, at Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia and herself, The Anita Rita Clara Scholarship Fund at Roanoke College, in Salem, Virginia.
Mom made certain that her four daughter's pursued college degrees.
During Mom's Eagle Rock years, Mom was able, with Dad, with family, and with friends to realize a life long dream to travel and really see the world.
Mom was not the kind of traveler putting push pins on a map of the globe. Instead, Mom was the kind of traveler who wanted to meet people and genuinely understand why things and places are the way they are. As a result, Mom collected many friends from everywhere, and many of these friends traveled to visit Mom and Dad in Eagle Rock. As a result, Mom became one of the wisest and most brilliant self educated women of her era.
As I said earlier, Mom's number one "mom'ism" was "Life is Choices." Mom made good and bad choices, we all do, but she made HER choices.
All of us are here today, to celebrate the life and friendship of Anita Rita Clara Lambert...she would encourage you, using my voice, to make your life choices count!
Mom, as a first generation daughter of Italian immigrants, decided late in life to make the trip of a lifetime, to where her mother and grandparents were born in Southern Italy, more specifically, Petrona in Calabria.
Shortly thereafter, Mom wrote me an email on August 25, 2018.
"You've Got Mail!!!!"
Mom wrote to me:
"After you've read "The Good Mothers" by Alex Perry, see if you agree that the Italian family running the restaurant we ate in, in Mesoraco, is part of the Calabrian mafia? Now, I know why there were so many locks on our vacation villa. The reason we could have not read the book before we went is because it was just recently published and all of this was going on while we were there. Luv ya, Mom"
I responded:
"Everything and everybody said not to go to Calabria, but we did, with help from Franco and Salvatore. It was the best trip of my life! Thank you! I am a more complete person because of the time we spent there. It was as if my DNA went home. Varren, my grandson, is a total Scalzi in my mind's eye.
He will be going! Hope I can make it happen. I suspect there will be very little change."
Mom responded:
"Ditto, that was the best trip of my life. Agree with what you've said."
Mom self published many genealogy and travel books, all of them distributed to family and friends. She had dogged determination to accurately research her subject. Our families next generations will benefit from mom's many books.
We sisters hope to complete Mom's last book, in progress, the history of the Bessemer house in Eagle Rock.
On a final note, Babs, my Mom's long time Eagle Rock friend, said to me after Mom's last illness, that
"Anita was kind, faithful and forgiving."
Those are our Mom's other "mom'isms."
Our Mom will be missed by all of you who have gathered here today and by many more who's life Anita Rita Clara Lambert touched.
Thank you for being here to celebrate our Mom's life
She is survived by her daughters, Kelah, Bridgette, Tori and Erin, grandchildren Tara, Joseph, Ashley, Kyle and Kara, and three great grandchildren, Varren, Cofer and Valerie, and one sibling, sister, Rosemary [Rosie] Kassab of Brownstown Township, Michigan, and many nieces, nephews and other family members.
Preceded in death by her devoted husband, Commander Francis Richard Lambert, loving parents Frank and Anita Clara and seven siblings, brothers Frank, Fortunato, James, Robert and John Clara and two sisters, Carolina Petrykowski and MaryAnn Perry.
I will add a tribute to her life when I am able. Please keep her family in your prayers.
Heartfelt thanks to Find A Grave contributor Claudia Harrison for photographing and posting my sister and her husbands memorial marker. May your kindness be returned to you one hundred-fold.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Published by the Botetourt Funeral Home, Buchanan, Virginia.
Anita Rita Clara Lambert, formerly of Eagle Rock VA, passed away on October 15, 2021. She was born January 16, 1936, in Detroit, MI to the late Marianna Anita Scalzi Clara and Frank Dominic "One Punch" Clara. She was married to the late Commander Francis Richard "Dick" Lambert for fifty-five years; together, they resided in Eagle Rock for forty-seven years. Anita dearly loved and was greatly loved by her family. She is survived by her four daughters, Kelah, Bridgette, Tori, and Erin; three sons-in-law, Roger, Bill, and Kenric; five grandchildren, Tara, Joseph, Ashley, Kyle, and Kara; three great grandchildren, Varren, Cofer, and Valerie; her youngest sister Rosie; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins too numerous to name. A consummate story-teller, writer, and researcher, Anita was proud of her Italian heritage and she self-published four genealogy books, the first of which was a compilation of matrilineal tales, photographs, and recipes from and about over 700 ancestors and relatives. She enjoyed entertaining family and friends who loved hearing her stories about her ancestors' many triumphs and tragedies. Her cannoli will also be missed! Though Anita insisted her daughters go to college, she was a graduate of the School of Hard Knocks and received most of her education working as a waitress, writer, editor, chauffeur, clerk, secretary, antique shop owner, swimming pool entrepreneur, church business manager, senior citizen program coordinator, market researcher, and rural mail carrier. She retired from the USPS in 1999. No stranger to struggle, Anita generously shared what she had and gave what she could to others. Her funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, November 6, 2021, at The Catholic Church of the Transfiguration at 7624 Roanoke Road in Fincastle, VA with Father Stephen McNally officiating. Following the service, her family will receive friends in the church Social Hall until 3:00 p.m. Her ashes will be inurned with her husband's in a private family service at the Southwest Virginia Veterans Cemetery in Dublin, VA. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Anita Rita Clara Scholarship Fund at Roanoke College. Please send checks made payable to Roanoke College to the Roanoke College Resource Development Office, 221 College Lane, Salem, VA 24153. Online contributions also may be made at www.roanoke.edu\givetoday by selecting "Other" under Designation, then typing Anita Rita Clara Scholarship Fund into the Gift Designation field. Online condolences may be made at www.botetourtfuneralhome.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anita Rita Clara Lambert Eulogy November 6, 2021
Church of the Transfiguration
Fincastle, Virginia
Written and delivered by Kelah N. Clarke, Daughter
Our Mom, my Mom, Anita Rita Clara Lambert, had a lot of mom'isms" to share with her four daughters, me, Kelah, and my sister's Bridgette, Tori and Erin.
And because she lived a long life, she was blessed with five beloved grand's, Tara, Joseph, Ashley, Kyle and Kara and three great grand's, Varren, Cofer and Valerie.
Mom's number one "mom'ism" was "Life is Choices."
Mom was a maverick before the word became fashionable, especially for a woman born in 1936.
Mom was one of nine children born to an Italian immigrant mother and her father was the son of Italian immigrants. Mom's parents were thrifty and hardworking. Mom's mom, also called Anita, was married at age 15.
Our Mom, Anita, was sibling number seven and managed to be one of four siblings graduating high school in Detroit, Michigan, where she was born and raised. However, maverick Mom was the only one of her siblings to leave Detroit.
Mom left Detroit immediately upon high school graduation to sell magazine subscriptions, door to door, on the east coast and in the mid-west, until she was given money for a bus ticket by her employer, as things were not working out for mom or the company.
On this day, her 18th birthday, in the month of January, she decided to board the bus headed to Palm Beach, Florida where she secured work as a waitress on Worth Avenue serving high falutin' movie stars.
By the time season was over, she went back to Detroit where she crafted maverick plan C and made the move to southern California and started her family life there in the mid 1950's: "California Dreamin'."
Yet, from there, Mom made another maverick move, she and our Dad, a young Naval Officer, began a grand chaotic journey around our country pursuing Dad's military orders while Mom pursued Mom and charity roles.
Finally, when they completed their services to our country, mom realized her dream to settle down in Eagle Rock, Virginia in a very old Victorian style home and while in that house, the house aged another 47 years.
Mom pursued many entrepreneurial and managerial jobs. Her last job, as a rural mail carrier, afforded her a pension and a thrift retirement savings plan, which was a real victory. However, Mom most likely would like for us to remember her as a retired mail bag!
Mom made a point, in her final years, to make her thrift retirement plan beneficiaries two, in perpetuity scholarship funds, honoring her late husband, Dick Lambert, at Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia and herself, The Anita Rita Clara Scholarship Fund at Roanoke College, in Salem, Virginia.
Mom made certain that her four daughter's pursued college degrees.
During Mom's Eagle Rock years, Mom was able, with Dad, with family, and with friends to realize a life long dream to travel and really see the world.
Mom was not the kind of traveler putting push pins on a map of the globe. Instead, Mom was the kind of traveler who wanted to meet people and genuinely understand why things and places are the way they are. As a result, Mom collected many friends from everywhere, and many of these friends traveled to visit Mom and Dad in Eagle Rock. As a result, Mom became one of the wisest and most brilliant self educated women of her era.
As I said earlier, Mom's number one "mom'ism" was "Life is Choices." Mom made good and bad choices, we all do, but she made HER choices.
All of us are here today, to celebrate the life and friendship of Anita Rita Clara Lambert...she would encourage you, using my voice, to make your life choices count!
Mom, as a first generation daughter of Italian immigrants, decided late in life to make the trip of a lifetime, to where her mother and grandparents were born in Southern Italy, more specifically, Petrona in Calabria.
Shortly thereafter, Mom wrote me an email on August 25, 2018.
"You've Got Mail!!!!"
Mom wrote to me:
"After you've read "The Good Mothers" by Alex Perry, see if you agree that the Italian family running the restaurant we ate in, in Mesoraco, is part of the Calabrian mafia? Now, I know why there were so many locks on our vacation villa. The reason we could have not read the book before we went is because it was just recently published and all of this was going on while we were there. Luv ya, Mom"
I responded:
"Everything and everybody said not to go to Calabria, but we did, with help from Franco and Salvatore. It was the best trip of my life! Thank you! I am a more complete person because of the time we spent there. It was as if my DNA went home. Varren, my grandson, is a total Scalzi in my mind's eye.
He will be going! Hope I can make it happen. I suspect there will be very little change."
Mom responded:
"Ditto, that was the best trip of my life. Agree with what you've said."
Mom self published many genealogy and travel books, all of them distributed to family and friends. She had dogged determination to accurately research her subject. Our families next generations will benefit from mom's many books.
We sisters hope to complete Mom's last book, in progress, the history of the Bessemer house in Eagle Rock.
On a final note, Babs, my Mom's long time Eagle Rock friend, said to me after Mom's last illness, that
"Anita was kind, faithful and forgiving."
Those are our Mom's other "mom'isms."
Our Mom will be missed by all of you who have gathered here today and by many more who's life Anita Rita Clara Lambert touched.
Thank you for being here to celebrate our Mom's life
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