Mary A. Lambert

Mrs. Mary A. Lambert, neé Musser, age 94, of Forks Township, passed away peacefully on December 7, 2020, at the Highlands Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, Laporte PA. 

Mary was born on June 25, 1926, at Deep Springs Farm in Berlin, Somerset County, PA, a daughter of D. Jay and Margaret Ethel Buckman Musser. She had three sisters.  She attended Brother’s Valley School in Berlin and graduated during WWII. She spent a year working on her father’s family farm and at the coal mine, then headed off to study at Juniata College.

She graduated from Juniata College with a degree in Home Economics.  She accepted a job with Pennsylvania Extension in Sullivan County and had to go the college library to look up the location of Sullivan County. She arrived in Sullivan County to take on the Extension job in 1949.  She spent her first night in Sullivan County at the Forksville Inn, noting that she had never set foot in a bar before, actually never even tasted coffee!  She worked with the Extension Agency teaching the ladies of Sullivan County how to cane chairs, sew, and planning trips to New York City.

She met George Lambert at the Overton Picnic and married him in 1951.  Together they operated Lambert Farms, a Century Farm of Forks Township. The farm was progressive, one of the first in the county to have Harvestore silos and use artificial insemination.  They had four children. George and Mary were married for 51 years until George’s death in 2002.

Mary taught as a substitute teacher in one room schools in Shunk and Hillsgrove. She taught health at the Sullivan County High School, where many of the student’s affectionately called her “Aunt Mary.”  She also worked with the Sullivan County Children and Youth agency at this time.

She spent many years working for USDA Agricultural Statistics Services, visiting farms across the region and gathering data for the Crop Reporting Service.

Mary was very active in the Sullivan County 4-H program.  She was a 4-H leader for 50+ years with the East Forks 4-H club.  She taught a variety of projects. She chaperoned groups to State Days, the Achievement Trip, and served as a camp counselor at 4-H Camp at Camp Brule. Many former 4-H members remember the competitive softball games in Mary’s front yard. For Mary’s 91st birthday, a surprise flash mob gathered in the front yard of Lambert Farms to recreate these softball memories.

Mary was also active with the Sullivan County Dairy Promotion committee. For many years she was a driving force behind the annual June Dairy Parade in Dushore and a fixture at the milk promotion booth at the Sullivan County Fair.

George and Mary hosted exchange students from all over the world through the IFYE Cultural Exchange program.  She maintained an active correspondence with these exchange students and with her surviving college friends up until her passing.

Mary was instrumental in the formation of the Sullivan County Library, selling subscriptions to raise funds, obtaining furniture, and helping to set up the Library.  She was an early member of the Tuesday Book Club, a group of ladies who gathered books for the library, and remained active with the group and supportive of the library her whole life.

Mary was a member of St. Paul’s Church in Overton.  She was the organist there for many years and the hymns did not drag when she was playing them!   For many years, she helped organize the annual turkey supper.  She spent many years with the summer Bible School program and helped organize the church’s annual Halloween party.  She could be counted on to help the pastors keep their sermons from getting too long!

Mary was an integral part of her community, remembering birthdays and anniversaries with cards each year and calling her neighbors to check in each day. The scope of her network and the people she influenced is immeasurable.

Besides her parents and husband, she was predeceased by three sisters and brothers-in-law:  Catherine and Bill Rhoads; Helen Louise and Harold Geiger; Rae and Bob Hoffman; and her son-in-law, Mark Drauschak. 

She is survived by her children, Susan Drauschak of Pottstown; William and Jody Lambert of Forks Township; Ann and Scott Sick of Millville; and James and Melanie Lambert of Forksville.  She was blessed with 11 grandchildren: Steve and Neena Drauschak; Lisa and Matt Gross; Jessica and Jeff Pennella; Francis and Korie Lambert; Dan and Amber Lambert; Ben and Kayla Lambert; Tom and Danielle Lambert; Katie Sick; Hannah and Matt Sherwood; Meredith Lambert; and Bethany Lambert, and 13 great grandchildren. She has caring nieces and nephews who maintained close contact with her until her passing, including the Dushore Lamberts, Leo, John, and Mary Yonkin, and other extended family from around the country.

Sincere thanks is extended to the staff of the third floor of the Highlands who were so caring to Mary during her stay there and during her final days.

The funeral services for Mary will be private.  She will be interred next to her husband George at St Francis Xavier Cemetery, Overton.

A memorial service will be held when pandemic restrictions are lifted and we look forward to sharing the many stories about her life well-lived.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Friends of the Sullivan County Library at PO Box 485, Dushore PA  18614, the Sullivan County 4-H Program, 9219 Rt 487 Suite A, Dushore PA 18614, or the St. Paul Church, Overton, ℅ Joan Rohe, 1226 Taylor Hill Road, Dushore, PA 18614.

          Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Homer Funeral Home, 206 Water St., Dushore, PA 18614.

          To send condolences or sign the e-guestbook, please go to homerfuneralhome.com.