Connie Lambert

Connie Jean Newtown Lambert



A resident of the Good Samaritan Society - Las Cruces Villages nursing home, Connie was removed from life support at Memorial Hospital, Las Cruces, New Mexico and went to be with her Lord, Thursday, November 12, 2020.



Born December 8, 1943 in Helena, NY., Daughter of Levi Frederick Newtown and Marion Frances Reed Newtown, Helena, she attended the Helena Elementary School and upon graduating from St. Lawrence Central High School, Brasher Falls, NY in 1962, Connie moved to Watertown, NY to attend the Chrishelle School of Cosmetology where she became a licensed hair stylist and also worked on the manufacturing line at Faichney Instrument Corporation, calibrating mercury thermometers.



During her residency in Watertown, Connie lived on Keyes Avenue across from the Sisters of the Precious Blood Monastery, for whom she became a life-long supporter and advocate of the Sisterhood. Connie experienced many miracles in her life and to her last day on this earth, was quick to share her miracle stories and the power of prayer in the name of His Precious Blood as a means of encouragement to help others. Connie was a living testament to the many blessings she received. Even during her multiple health challenges, she would be the first to testify that it was the power of prayer from the Sisters and from faith in the Precious Blood of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, that was her sustaining life force. It was these foundations of her life that allowed her to stand strong with faith, courage and strength against every challenge and heartbreak of this earthly world. It is that power of the Precious Blood that has set her free to now live the new life God has promised and that she so deserves; free of pain, healthy, happy and joining the loved ones she so dearly missed. A celebration of Connie's life was held the day of her passing by the Sisters who arranged the dedication of a Mass officiated by Monsignor Paul Whitmore. Due to Covid there are no other services planned. Everyone is asked to offer prayers for peace as their own hearts direct.



On May 2, 1970, Connie married Chester Frank Lambert, who was born June 1, 1934 and who predeceased her from cancer on May 2, 2001. After meeting in Watertown and marrying, Connie and Frank began their life's journey in Ohio traveling around the north eastern states for his job and eventually making their home in Brasher Center, NY, where they had their children Mark Edward and Deborah Ann before relocating to Houston, Texas where they owned and operated a tow truck service. They later moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico, where they opened their family operated garage with Mark working beside them. Connie would sell the customers "snow" from New York, a small jar of water, which she explained turned back into snow when put into the freezer - and people bought it. With a smart wit and quick smile, Connie loved to joke, laugh, dance (Connie and Frank could tear up any floor with their jitterbug), travel, go camping with her family at the many Thousand Trails camp ground sites with their kids, play cards and checkers when the family visited and share the many miracles she experienced in her life; but above all else, what she loved most was her family.



A loyal, dedicated and loving wife and mother, Connie and Frank had two children and five grandchildren to whom she dedicated her life: Son, Mark Edward Lambert, born March 4, 1971 whose children are Justin Thomas Lambert and Kacie Jo Lambert with his ex-wife Kristine Ann Beckett Lambert and Dalton Ray Blair and Bree Anne Watkins, with his current wife Gena Watkins; and, Daughter, Deborah Ann Lambert DeVoss, born February 21, 1972, who had a son Adoni Marcus DeVoss with her husband Jergen DeVoss.



The eldest child of Levi and Marion Newtown's five children, Connie was and is well loved by her brother David Levi Newtown and his wife Lonny Lou Ezard Newtown (deceased 12/28/19), Daniel Frederick Newtown and his wife Julie Anne-Marie Cole Newtown, Lorraine Marie Newtown Clement and her husband David Wayne Clement (aka by Connie as "Gentleman Dave") and Susan Kay Newtown (deceased 01/04/14).



Connie had a true passion for children and their development working over 7 years in Houston at the Pilgrim Lutheran Day Care, teaching grades 2-8 and Sunday School. She also became a State Certified Day Care provider working over 10 years with children at the Discovery Day Care in Las Cruces, NM. She was especially known for working with children who had special needs and emotional issues, successfully helping them learn and develop when others had given up on them. She would personally make sure each child under her care felt loved and would give them a needed article of clothing, lunch or snack, so they felt included and would not go hungry. Connie was destined to be in a teacher role as one cousin's happy memory is of the cousins visiting our family and being thrilled that an older kid, Connie, would make seats and desks out of wooden milk crates and she would stand in front of them teaching them under the shade of the tree. She loved crafts and took delight in making creative works for the kids at daycare and especially playing and doing crafts with her Grandchildren. In her later years, she took up water painting and produced some beautiful paintings with those strong, loving hands even though they were bent and deformed from the severe arthritis that tried to claim her; but she never gave up living her best life.



A lover of history, she was a wealth of knowledge and stories and she thrilled at being tour guide and sharing the area's rich history with her brother, David, her sister Lorraine and her brother-in-law David, whom Connie loved as a brother, each spring and fall when they would visit her in Las Cruces. From teaching about the name, Las Cruces meaning "Crosses" to directing our sightseeing trips through Fort Stanton, the Rio Grande, White Sands Missile Base, and the NASA museum, to name a few, she would enthusiastically guide our rode trips and share the stories of the old west. She especially loved to show us and share the story of the Old Mesilla courthouse where Billy the Kid stood trial for the assassination of Sheriff William Brady during the Lincoln County War and taking us to the historic Town of Lincoln where Billy the kid was returned to stand for execution of his sentence, but escaped by killing his two guards until later that year when he was shot to death at the Maxwell ranch near old Fort Sumner by Sheriff Pat Garrett. It seems fitting that she will be laid to rest with her husband in the Masonic Cemetery, Las Cruces, the burial place of one of her heroes, Pat Garrett.



Connie Jean Newtown Lambert is our hero. She lived her life with strength, grace and faith. She is now free of the physical pain of this world and is sharing the joy of living with her Lord whom she so well served.



"Oh, the last goodbye's the hardest one to say; this is where the Cowgirl rides away."



DONATIONS MAY BE MADE TO:

The Sisters of the Precious Blood

400 Pratt Street

Watertown, NY 13601

(315) 788-1669

http://www.sisterspreciousblood.org/