John Wilson Lamb

JOHN WILSON LAMB December 26, 1918 July 7, 2009 John Wilson Lamb, 90, of Waco, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, July 7, 2009, at Westview Manor Nursing Home following a three year fight against cancer. Funeral services will be 11:30 a.m. Friday, July 10, at Wilkirson Hatch-Bailey with Mike Waldrop officiating. Committal will follow at Oakwood Cemetery. Visitation with the family will be 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Thursday, July 9, at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey Garden Room. John was born on December 26, 1918, on a farm near Plaska, Texas, by the Red River. He attended school in nearby Memphis, Texas, graduating high school in 1936. Following graduation, he worked for the First National Bank of Memphis, Texas, as bookkeeper and teller. In September 1938, he entered Texas A&M College graduating with a B.S. degree in accounting in May 1942. While at A&M, he met the love of his life, Ella Waring of Waco, and they were married in December 1942. Commissioned a lieutenant in the Army upon graduation, he entered active duty in the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps serving stateside at various facilities until October 1945 when he was shipped to the Philippines, returning to the US in April 1946 with the rank of Captain. Following the war, he worked for the Veterans Department setting up training schools for returning veterans throughout central Texas. He later opened a business in Waco selling farm equipment. In 1954, he sold that business and moved to Friona, Texas, in the Panhandle, where he had an Oldsmobile and International Harvester dealership. In 1957, he returned to Waco and established Lamb's Muffler Center at 18th and Washington. He retired from that business in the early 1990s and took up golf which he played at every opportunity. Throughout his life, John was an active member of Masonry. He entered as an apprentice in 1941 and became a Master Mason in 1942. He joined the J.H. Gurley Lodge #337 in Waco in 1948. As a member of the Grand Lodge of Texas, he served as District Deputy Grand Master in 1978 and Grand Senior Steward in 1982. He also joined the Dallas Scottish Rite Bodies in 1948. He was an Affiliated Charter Member of the Waco Scottish Rite Bodies in March 1958 and held the position of Almoner from 1987 to 1999. He was invested as Knight Commander Court of Honor 32 degree KCCH in 1977 and Coroneted Inspector General Honorary 33 degree in 1985. He was also a member of the York Rite, the Karem Shrine Temple, the Red Cross of Constantine and National Sojourners. As part of his commitment to Masonry, John frequently drove patients and their families to Dallas for treatment at the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. He was also one of the original organizers of the Waco Scottish Rite's Camp Success which arose out of the Waco Scottish Rite Learning Center program to help children overcome Dyslexia and other learning disorders. John was preceded in death by his wife, Ella; his parents, Jake and Minnie; and sisters, Ruth Conner and Faye Smith. He is survived by his daughter, Su Zann Lamb, currently of Waco; his sister, Rhea Foster of Lubbock; and a large number of nephews, nieces, grandnephews and grandnieces who adored their Uncle John. In lieu of flowers no lilies please, memorials can be made to the following: Waco Scottish Rite Charitable Foundation, designated for Camp Success, P. O. Box 32508, Waco, Texas 76703, or the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, 2222 Wellborn Street, Dallas, Texas 75219. The family invites you to leave a message or memory in our "Memorial Guestbook" at www.wilkirsonhatchbailey.com.