James McKennie Lamb

A loving husband, father and grandfather, he died at 8:40 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 9, 2007, at his home in Baton Rouge. Mr. Lamb, 77, was a retired executive in the meat industry and a native of Port dePosit, Md. Visitation at Rabenhorst Funeral Home East, 11000 Florida Blvd., on Tuesday, Sept. 11, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and on Wednesday from 9 a.m. until service at 10 a.m. Visitation at Patterson Funeral Home, Perryville, Md., on Friday, Sept. 14, at 11 a.m. until service at noon. Interment in Hopewell Cemetery, Rising Sun, Md. Survived by his loving and eternal wife of 57 years, Barbara Hays Lamb; son, Steven Bruce Lamb and wife Laura Archer Lamb, of San Antonio; daughter, Suzanne Lamb Rodriguez and husband José Luis Rodriguez, of North Augusta, S.C.; and daughter, Kate Lamb Abraham and husband G. William Abraham, of Baton Rouge. Also survived by three grandsons, James Louis Stewart and wife Rhianna, of North Augusta, S.C., Nicholas McKenna Abraham, of Baton Rouge, and Robert Frary, of Austin, Texas. Preceded in death by his parents, James McKenna and Blanche Clark Lamb; sister and brother-in-law, Doris and Buzz Connors; and brother, David Albers Lamb. From the late '40s to the early '60s, Mr. Lamb pursued an interest in country and bluegrass music. He was well-known in the Washington, D.C., and Baltimore area through personal appearances and radio and television broadcasts. He was a U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War. During this time, he was awarded the title of Grand Champion Fiddler of the European Continent. In the early '70s, he continued his interest in country and bluegrass music in Louisiana and was one of the founders of the Louisiana Bluegrass Association. In the late '70s, the hobby of woodworking and violin making became a part-time vocation in partnership with Mac Barnes of Woodbridge, Va. During this period, several instruments were commissioned by the Grand Ole Opry as commemorative presentations for the likes of Roy Acuff and Bill Monroe. He also made several personal fiddles for Chubby Wise, John Hartford, Frazier Moss, Ramona Jones and Bobby Hicks. Mr. Lamb will be greatly missed by all the lives he touched with his friendship, charity and music. He was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The family requests, in lieu of flowers, memorial donations be made to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, 9457 Brookline, Baton Rouge, LA 70809.