Christine Marie Lambert

A funeral service will be held at 11am on Thurs. July 23, 2015 at Gateway Little Chapel of the Chimes, 1515 NE 106th Ave., Portland, Oregon 97220.

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Christine Marie Lambert was born March 11, 1925 in north-central Wisconsin to Dominic and Rose Matushak of good Polish stock. Her younger years were spent growing up with her family which included her older sister, Irene. They attended both grammar and high school in the Wausau area.

It was after completing her schooling that she met Dad(Jim) who swept her off her feet or maybe we should say she "knocked his socks off" with her beauty and charm. After a brief courtship, they were married. But not long after the marriage, Dad was shipped off to Europe to fight in WWII. While he was single handily winning the war(Mom's version) she was busy doing her part at home. She was one of the original "Rosie the Riveter's, running a metal lathe machining engine parts. Once dad returned from winning the war, they resumed their life together in Wausau. While there, they reconnected with family and began riding motorcycles for leisure. She was a real" biker chick" and Dad was an "Easy Rider" dude....going down that highway the two of them. However, there was a little glitch to this wild and crazy life style and it was when dad hit the tree, bent the bike and Mom said our riding days are over Jim.!

It was at this time that they soon started their family. First little Jimmy came along and then 5 years later Kay Kay joined the family. They also made a life altering decision that took Christine on an adventure of a life time. This mid west city girl followed the love of her life to the wild wild west of Portland, Or., where for the next 65 years she built her life. She was the quintessential wife, mom and CEO of this little family.

During these years, she grew and expanded her horizons, she wore many hats. She was an excellent stay at home wife and mom, artist and active participant in her church, St Rita's, as well as actively involved in her children's school activities.

Her home was run like a well oiled machine one in which her organizational skills were finely honed. St Rita's benefited from these skills as she helped with church spaghetti dinners, altar society activities and church/school bazaars.

We must not forget or ignore a large part of Christine's focus was on her monthly bunco parties and winning the lottery.Our family certainly encouraged her participation in buying lottery tickets because she was lucky. She was always winning something so we knew she would be the one to hit the big jackpot and since she was a generous soul, she would share., we hoped.

After Jimmy and Kay were launched she then had the time to pursue her passion for painting. She was a modest, humble person about her talent, but all of us knew how good she was. She evolved into an accomplished artist producing a diverse selection of works. Her range went from still life's to portraits, and also landscapes. She was always taking classes improving her skill and talent. She painted well into her late 70's-early 80's.

During this time she was not only developing her artistic talent but she was involved with her grandchildren Tama and Dillon, traveling, friends and the entire Lambert clan. Many good times, laughter and fun events were shared with those she came in contact with. She had a contagious laugh, a ready smile and a very generous heart. She cared deeply about her family and was always ready to help. She is going to be sorely missed by those of us that knew and loved her.