Al Lambert's Obituary
Al Lambert was born in Seattle, WA on September 5, 1927 and went to be with the Lord on August 18, 2010. He was the grandson of Sam Skaggs, the patriarch of the family that founded Safeway stores. He will be buried in American Falls, ID in the family plot beside his mother Grace, and his grandparents Sam and Nancy Skaggs.
Al served in the Merchant Marine in the Pacific war zone from February 1945 to September 1945. The ship that he served on in the war underwent several bombing attacks from Japanese aircraft. He yielded to God’s call to become a minister on August 8, 1945 near the Philippine Islands, only days before the war ended. Immediately following World War II, he served for seventeen months in the U.S. Coast Guard.
Al was a graduate of Bethel College in St. Paul, MN and of Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, KS. Judson College of Elgin, IL conferred on him the Doctor of Divinity degree in 1980. The citation read in part, “For outstanding ministry in the local church, the community, and in the denomination of American Baptist Churches, USA.”
He was married in 1949 to Edith Lovegren, daughter of American Baptist missionaries in China. They were classmates at Bethel who married in the seminary chapel and celebrated their 61st anniversary this past June. To their union were born four children: Mark, Faith, Jon and Charity. Mark and Jon are Baptist ministers.
Al and Edie served American Baptist churches in Leoti, KS; Minot, ND; Topeka, KS; Overland Park, KS; Bellflower, CA and San Bernardino, CA. He was known for his work for Civil Rights in the 1960s in Kansas and received death threats when he invited an African American church to share their building after theirs had burned down. New church buildings were built during his time as pastor in Leoti, Minot, Overland Park and San Bernardino. The Bellflower Friendship Manor, an eight story high rise senior citizen ministry, was erected during his pastorate in Bellflower.
Al served his denomination for seven years as the Minister of World Missions and Stewardship for the American Baptist Churches of the Pacific Southwest. In this position he traveled widely among Baptist work at home and abroad. After his “retirement,” he served as interim pastor at ABCPSW churches in San Diego, Brawley, Huntington Beach, Garden Grove and Ridgecrest. He is most proud of his family, especially that all his kids, grandkids and their spouses are actively serving Christ. He is survived by his wife, four children, 16 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren with 3 coming.
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