Marshall Lambert

Funeral Services for Marshall E. Lambert, 90, of Ekalaka, Montana are 2:00 p. m. , Monday, September 12, 2005 at the Carter County High School Gymnasium in Ekalaka, with Tom Stieg officiating. Burial will follow at Beaver Lodge Cemetery in Ekalaka. Visitation will be 12:30 p. m. to 2:00 p. m. , Monday, September 12, 2005 at the Carter County High School Gymnasium. Marshall died peacefully at Dahl Memorial Nursing Home, September 7, 2005. Born December 2, 1914, in Baker to Brice and Myrtle Castleberry Lambert, Marshall spent his early years in Plevna and other towns along the Milwaukee Railroad where his father worked. At age eight, in 1923, he was orphaned when a tornado near Bucyrus, North Dakota, destroyed a house his family was visiting, killing his parents and a younger sister. The remainder of his school years were spent near Ekalaka, where he was raised by his grandparent, Frank and Ida Castleberry. He also enjoyed spending summers with an aunt, Nell Rife, and cousin Bob Kinsey, north of Baker. After graduating form Carter County High School in Ekalaka in 1932, Marshall sold his horse and saddle and headed for California to attend school at Fresno State College where he studied business. School and adventure drew him then to the gold fields of Alaska and the University of Alaska where he found himself at the outbreak of WWII. Joining the U. S. Army Air Corps, Marshall completed flight training at Randolph Field, Texas, in 1942; and completed 50 combat missions in the Mediterranean theater as a bomber pilot. He married Dora Ann Miller while in Texas in 1942, and the couple enjoyed 63 years of marriage before his death. Two sons were born, Brice in 1945 and Russell in 1946, and the family settled in Ekalaka following WWII, where Marshall taught science at Carter County High School until his retirement in 1975. Marshall, as director of the Carter County Museum, a position he assumed upon returning to Ekalaka in 1946, spent summers pursing an intense interest in paleontology, and finally assembled a duckbill dinosaur skeleton, now a centerpiece of the museum. He remained as museum director until retiring from that position in 1996. His years of effort resulted in a national award for amateur paleontology in 1997. Throughout his life, Marshall maintained his curiosity about things around him, and dedicated himself to sharing his interests with others. Marshall is survived by his wife, Dora; one son, Brice and his wife, Lois,; a grandson, Reed; and a cousin, Fulton Castleberry, all of Ekalaka; a granddaughter, Katie of Billings; and another cousin, Lee Castleberry of St. George, Utah. He was preceded in death by his parents, sister, one son; Russell; and an infant granddaughter, Morgan. The family suggests that memorials be sent to the Carter County Museum.


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Burial Date: September 12, 2005
Funeral Home Ekalaka, MT

Funeral Service: Monday, Carter County High School Gymnasium