Robert L. Lambert was committed to the written word, reading books on an array of topics including natural science, politics and history, and serving as a board member and president of the Glen Ellyn Library Board.
“I remember him as a very intelligent guy who was laid-back and very unselfish,” said Glen Ellyn resident Ray Cliff, who also was on the western suburb’s library board. “He was just a very fine person.”
Mr. Lambert, 80, died of complications related to multiple myeloma Wednesday, May 18, at Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield, said his wife of 57 years, Mary Anne. A resident of Carol Stream, he previously had lived in Glen Ellyn for more than 45 years.
A native of Boston who grew up in Buffalo, Mr. Lambert went to Dartmouth College for undergraduate and graduate degrees in business, and early in his career worked for a printing company.
He moved to Glen Ellyn in 1961 and took a job with Northern Trust in Chicago, where over 32 years he worked in commercial banking and mergers and acquisitions.
In 1982, Mr. Lambert joined the Glen Ellyn Library Board. He became its president in 1985 and stepped down in 1987, said Judy Webster, a family friend.
His time on the board was one of several ways Mr. Lambert contributed to his community, friends said. He also was a board president of Hull House and active with the Glen Ellyn Food Pantry.
Mr. Lambert also served on the board of the Glen Ellyn Library Foundation, formed in 1998 to provide funding for the library.
“He was pretty socially oriented from the standpoint not of social activism but just of being aware of other people’s problems and (being) eager to help,” Cliff said. “That’s the kind of person he was.”
In addition to his wife, Mr. Lambert is survived by a daughter, Robin Graham; two sons, Lance and Bryce; a brother, Bill; and six grandchildren.
Services were held.
