Joan Higginbotham Lamb

Joan Higginbotham Lamb, born to Douglas and Hattie Higginbotham on May 12, 1930, in Port Arthur, Texas, peacefully passed away at the age of 86, on June 2, 2016, in Castle Rock, Colorado. Joan was the third of three children, and was raised with her brother Douglas and her sister Frances in a loving home in Port Arthur during the Great Depression. Joan, a gifted singer, majored in voice at the University of Texas, where in a French class in 1948 she met her husband Charles "Chuck" Lamb. They were married on February 25, 1950. During their 66 years of marriage, their abiding love for each other was foremost in their lives. Joan was known for her intelligence, compassion and determination, her devotion to her family and the church, and her active engagement in her love for the arts. Joan and Chuck moved many times in the course of their lives due to Chuck's employment in the oil industry, and in each of their hometowns they were both active in their church and community. Their faith in God and belief in the Everlasting was an unwavering hallmark of their marriage and lives. Joan, Chuck and each of their three children, Genie, Patty and John Charles, attended and served within their churches together; Chuck as a lay reader and vestryman, Genie and Patty singing in the choir with Joan, and John serving as an acolyte. Since Joan and Chuck settled in Littleton, Colorado in 1971, they have called St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church their spiritual home. Joan also was a national and international leader in the church throughout her life, serving as president of both the Episcopal Church Women of Colorado and the Anglican Fellowship of Prayer. She traveled often on behalf of these organizations, including to Korea to visit orphanages being supported by the church. She was an energetic and talented soprano in the church choir and instilled her appreciation for music and the arts in her children and grandchildren. Joan was civically active as well, bringing culture and graciousness to the organizations in which she served. In Gainesville, Texas she was instrumental in creating an organization known as STAGE, which brought many internationally known stars of the stage and film to her community for presentations, performances and recitals. Joan is preceded in death by her husband Chuck and survived by daughter Genie (Alan) Shupe and grandchildren Jennifer (Joe) and Travis (Lee); daughter Patty (James) Comer and grandchildren Cody (Joung Nan), and Kevin (Jessica); son John (Sara) Lamb, and grandchild Joshua (Amber). Joan is also survived by nieces Joni Bodart, Ceci Wallen and Christy Booz, to whom she was a second mother and inspiration. She also has six great-grandchildren, with one more on the way. In lieu of flowers, contributions to the Alzheimer’s Association or the American Cancer Society in the form of financial assistance or volunteerism would be welcomed and appreciated by her family. Services were held June 5, 2016 at St. Anthony's Episcopal Church in Littleton, Colorado.